Virat Kohli surpasses Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid after ending his run drought in Test
He joined the list which has names like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, and Virender Sehwag, who have scored 4000 runs on home soil.
Follow Us
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli finally ended his run drought in the Test after slamming his first half-century after almost 14 months. His last half-century came in January 2022. He smacked his 29th 50 on Day 3 of the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series on Saturday (March 11) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Doing so, the 34-year-old also completed 4000 runs in red-ball cricket at home and at the same time, became the fifth Indian to do so. He joined the list which has names like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, and Virender Sehwag, who have scored those runs on home soil.
With this score, Kohli became the third fastest to reach 4000 Test runs in India (in 77 innings). He went past Rahul Dravid (88) and Gavaskar (87). Before Kohli, Sehwag, and Tendulkar stand at the first and second spots respectively. But Kohli tops the list amongst these legends with the best average of 58.82.
A big knock is expected from Virat Kohli
On a pitch where runs are coming smoothly, a big knock is expected from Virat Kohli. Though he scored his half-century and remained unbeaten on 59, he wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to reach the triple-figure mark; his focus will be on converting it into a century to end his Test ton drought. Notably, his last Test century came in 2019 against Bangladesh where he played a 136-run knock.
He and Ravindra Jadeja will start batting on Day 4 from their 59* and 16* runs respectively. Earlier, Kohli batted alongside Shubman Gill who reached his maiden Test ton at home. With his second Test ton, Gill also registered his fifth century in 2023, and looking at his present form, he can smash a few more later this year too. He scored 128 runs with 12 boundaries and a six before he became the victim of Nathan Lyon.
Australia have put on 480 runs and India are now trailing behind 191 runs. They have so far scored 289/3 and have a long way to go. Kohli and Jadeja need to save their wickets if they are to give a huge target to the Aussies. But looking at the current situation, and if wickets don’t fall on a regular basis, in all possibilities, this match will end in a draw.
But that won’t be a problem for India because they have already retained the trophy and will eventually win the series to qualify for the World Test Champions. Australia have already reached there and are waiting for the second finalist to clash at The Oval in June this year.
In case you missed:
Stay Updated!
Gouri Das
(4693 Articles Published)