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3 Virat Kohli Test Records That Will Never Be Broken
Follow UsIn his decorated 14-year-long career, the former Indian skipper scripted many records
Virat Kohli has officially retired from Test cricket, and the news has brought the entire cricketing world to a standstill. The 36-year-old, unquestionably one of the greatest ever batters to have played the game, was expected to mentor a young-ish team away in England but the retirement news has come as a shock for many.
Despite a dip in the past five years or so, Kohli still bids adieu to the format as a genuine great, with 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, and 30 hundreds to go along with that.
In his decorated 14-year-long career, the former Indian skipper scripted many records. We look at three such records which might never get broken.
3+ double centuries in multiple calendar years
Three batters in history have scored more double hundreds than Kohli has (7). Yet he holds a record that even the legendary Don Bradman does not, which is scoring 3+ double centuries in a calendar year, not once, but twice. In both 2016 & 2017, Kohli smashed three double centuries each - it’s a feat no other batter has managed to do.
Most players will bite your hand off for scoring 3 tons in two different calendar years. And here you have Kohli, who has scored 3 double-tons across two different years.
Highest win% at home as captain
Virat Kohli led India at home in 31 Test matches, out of which the side ended up winning a whopping 24, losing just two games. That’s a win percentage of 77.41%, the highest win percentage at home for any captain in the history of Test cricket.
Incredibly, under Kohli, India did not lose a single series at home, exerting the kind of dominance that scared opponents.
Fair to say, we might never see another captain under whom a side will literally be unbeatable in home conditions.
Most double hundreds as captain
We spoke about Kohli smashing 7 double centuries but here’s the thing: each of these 7 double centuries came as skipper. No other captain in the history of the game has smashed as many double tons as Kohli, with Brian Lara (5) being the only other skipper to score 5+ double centuries.
Considering even players like Ponting, Graeme Smith and Michael Clarke couldn’t come close to this record, it’s fair to say that this might just be a record that will stay unbroken forever.