#ThisDayThatYear: Virat Kohli arrives on the Test circuit
It has been nine years since the Indian captain Virat Kohli made his Test debut. On June 20 in 2011, the Indian maestro burst on to the Test circuit in a game against West Indies. Although his first tryst with Test cricket turned out to be forgettable, he went on to become India's most successful Test captain. Here is how the match panned out.
India won the match by 63 runs
Batting first on the Kingston track, Team Indian piled up 246 after 61.2 overs. The Indian bowlers were right on the money, dismissing WI for just 173, in reply. In the second innings, Rahul Dravid's timely ton propelled India to 252. Chasing 326, the hosts were bundled out on 262. Kohli couldn't make much impact as he scored 4, 15 in the match.
A look at Kohli's Test career
Nearly a decade after joining the Test side, Virat Kohli seems to be ruling the roost. He has already amassed 7,240 runs from 86 Tests at an incredible average of 53.62. The 31-year-old is also the third highest run-scorer after Joe Root (7,599) and David Warner (7,244) among active cricketers. He also owns 27 Test centuries (most among active cricketers).
A record seven double tons in Test cricket
Before 2016, Kohli was bereft of a (Test) double hundred. However, he ended 2017 with as many as six double tons. Last year, Kohli added another one after scoring an unbeaten 254 against South Africa, which is also his highest Test score. He is now only behind Don Bradman (12), Kumar Sangakkara (11) and Brian Lara (9) on the list.
Captaincy record of Virat Kohli (Tests)
In 2014-15, Kohli took the baton from MS Dhoni following the latter's retirement. He scaled new heights as captain, having led India to the top ICC of Test Rankings. Kohli has also become India's most successful captain in the format with 33 wins. He also boasts a terrific win percentage of 60.00 as a skipper in Test cricket.
(Captain) Kohli vs (Player) Kohli
Virat Kohli has aggregated 5,142 of his 7,240 Test runs as a skipper. With the added responsibility, his average also climbed to 61.21, as compared to 53.62 (overall). He has also struck 20 Test tons while leading Team India.
What lies ahead for Kohli?
In the upcoming years, Kohli could become the fourth Indian batsman after (Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar) to reach the 10,000-run mark. Having scored 27 tons, his next target would be to surpass Gavaskar's historic feat of 34 Test centuries. As far captaincy is concerned, Kohli (33) will be looking to emulate Clive Lloyd, who registered 36 wins for West Indies.
