Virat Kohli has rejoined the India Test team after eight months. With the India cricket camp beginning today in Chennai, Kohli arrived in the coastal city ahead of the IND vs BAN Test series. Kohli missed the entire England Test series due to the birth of his son. But as the Gautam Gambhir era begins in Test cricket, Kohli will be a crucial cog in the last push for a WTC Final berth. He will have an extra motivation too as he is just a century away from surpassing the legendary Don Bradman. Kohli equalled Bradman for 29 Test centuries in the West Indies.
India are on the top of the WTC Points Table with 10 Test matches to go for the WTC Final. The Test season resumes with the IND vs BAN Test series, followed by three matches against New Zealand and the all-important Border Gavaskar Trophy in November. Before that, India need Virat Kohli at his best.
| Period | Inns | Runs | Avg | 50/100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Till 2019 | 141 | 7202 | 54.97 | 22/27 |
| After 2019 | 50 | 1646 | 33.59 | 8/2 |
Two sides of Virat Kohli
There are two sides of Virat Kohli in Test cricket: before 2019 and after 2019. In the first half of his Test career, Virat Kohli was a run machine, hammering 7202 runs in 141 innings at 54.97 average. He also smashed 27 Test centuries and was the favourite among the “Fab 4”. But then, it all went downhill.
Since 2020, Virat Kohli hit a rough patch that lasted almost four years. It took him 42 Test innings to register another century. In between the century drought, Kohli averaged just 29.60 and had 10 single-digit scores in 42 innings. But the dark days seem to be over. Despite struggling in the T20 World Cup except in the final, Kohli seems to have hit the top gear again.
Since ending the century drought with a sublime 186 against Australia in Ahmedabad, Virat Kohli has averaged 68.66 including two centuries and two fifties in nine innings. That’s the positive Gautam Gambhir would look at when Kohli returns to his No 4 spot in the IND vs BAN 1st Test.
The Fab 4 Race
| Player | Mat | Runs | Avg | Centuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Root | 146 | 12402 | 50.62 | 34 |
| Steve Smith | 109 | 9685 | 56.97 | 32 |
| Kane Williamson | 100 | 8743 | 54.98 | 32 |
| Virat Kohli | 113 | 8848 | 49.15 | 29 |
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The Bradman record
While Kohli has taken a beating in the race of Fab 4 with Joe Root surging ahead, Kohli can still catch up. The Indian batting maestro will get 30 Test innings till August next year to get back in the race. But first up is Don Bradman’s record of 29 Test centuries. Kohli is currently tied with Bradman at 30 Test tons.
If he hits a ton against Bangladesh, he will surpass Bradman and equal another Australian great Matthew Hayden in the list of Most Test Centuries. While the mammoth 51 Test centuries by his idol Sachin Tendulkar seems impossible to achieve at this moment, he can still go closer to his record and surpass Ricky Ponting who has 41 Test tons.
But for the run machine to get rolling again, it has to start in IND vs BAN 1st Test.
