Virat Kohli slams 30th fifty as India lose in Centurion
South Africa hammered India by an innings and 32 runs in the Boxing Day Test in Centurion. The Proteas scored 408 in response to India's 245 after electing to field. India perished for 131 on Day 3, with Virat Kohli being the lone warrior (76). He played a counter-attacking knock but had no support from the other end. Kohli slammed his 30th Test fifty.
A fighting 76 from Kohli
Kohli was clearly the lone warrior for India in the 2nd innings. He was one of only two Indian batters to have reached double figures. While no other batter assisted Kohli, he slammed an 82-ball 76 (12 fours and 1 six). The Indian batter scored his 30th Test fifty. Kohli smashed a counter-attacking 38 in the 1st innings.
SA hand India an innings defeat
India slumped to 24/3 being put in to bat. Kohli and Shreyas Iyer rescued them but to no avail. KL Rahul's ton helped India reach 245. Kagiso Rabada took a five-wicket haul. SA also suffered an early blow, but centurion Dean Elgar and David Bedingham steadied the ship. Marco Jansen took them past 400. India perished for 131 in 34.1 overs on Day 3.
Second-most Test runs for India against SA
Kohli is now India's second-highest run-scorer against South Africa in Test cricket. He surpassed Virender Sehwag, who smashed 1,306 runs from 15 Tests against the Proteas in the format. One of Sehwag's two triple-tons also came against SA. Kohli is now only behind Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, the only Indian batter with over 1,700 runs (1,741) against the Proteas in the format.
Kohli completes 11,000 FC runs
During the 2nd innings, Kohli raced to 11,000 runs in First-Class cricket. The Indian batter reached this landmark in his 237th FC innings. He made his debut in the format back in 2006 in the Ranji Trophy. Kohli has over 8,700 runs in the ultimate format (internationals). His FC tally includes 36 tons and 38 half-centuries. He averages over 50 in the format.
2,000 international runs in seven different years
Kohli broke another record with his 76-run knock. He completed 2,000 runs in international cricket. The Indian Run Machin became the first player to score 2,000 international runs in seven different calendar years. He surpassed Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara, who slammed 2,000 or more international runs in six years. Kohli slammed 2,048 runs across formats at 66.06 in 2023 (eight tons).
