New Delhi: Team India star Virat Kohli is on the cusp of joining the likes of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in an elite club of Indian batters in the ongoing 1st Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru. The Day 1 of the Test match was washed out without a ball being bowled due to rain on Wednesday, October 16.
While the rain threat looms large on Day 2, the two teams will be hoping for the action to begin on Thursday. Kohli will be eyeing a huge milestone for India as he stands just 53 runs away from completing 9,000 runs in Test cricket. The senior India batter will become only the 4th Indian to reach the milestone, joining the likes of Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar in an elite list.
Kohli currently has 8,947 runs in 115 Tests at an average of 48.89, including 29 centuries and 30 fifties. He is 4th on the list of the highest run-getters of all time for India in Tests. Sachin leads the elite list with 15,921 runs from 200 matches and is followed by Dravid, who amassed 13,265 runs in 163 matches in his Test career. The Master Blaster is also the leading run-getter in Test history.
Most runs for India in Tests:
Sachin Tendulkar – 15,921 runs
Rahul Dravid – 13,265 runs
Sunil Gavaskar – 10,122 runs
Virat Kohli – 8,947 runs
Kohli has not been in the best of form in Test cricket for a while now and will be hoping to spark a turnaround in the ongoing series against New Zealand. The senior India batter has played only three Tests in 2024 so far but is yet to score a half-century this year. He has 157 runs in the three matches with the highest score of 47 which came in the recently concluded two-match series against Bangladesh.
Virat Kohli aims to bounce back among the runs
Kohli will be hopping to bounce back among the runs in the ongoing series against New Zealand and get some big knocks behind his back ahead of India’s all-important tour of Australia later this year. Kohli will continue to bat at no.3 for the hosts and has a great chance of regaining his rhythm against a nervy New Zealand, who are heading into the series on the back of a 2-0 series loss against Sri Lanka.
