Going into the opening Test of the three-match Test series against New Zealand at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Virat Kohli was inching to carry the same momentum he found in the lone innings of the Kanpur Test against Bangladesh. The conditions are quite known to him, having played on the ground for so many years in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The first innings of the Test weren’t sweet for Virat Kohli or the entire team, who were bundled out for their third-lowest innings total of 46. The wet surface, which was under the covers for nearly four days, was offering so much help and assistance to the seam and swing bowlers.
The lanky pacer, William O’Rourke, bounced him out awkwardly as the veteran returned to the dressing room for a nine-day duck. This put pressure on the batter and showed how important it would be to make a comeback. India conceded a lead of over 350, making it more vital to get in the middle.
Virat Kohli joins three Indians to register 9000 Test runs
When the former Indian captain walked into the middle, the home side was under a little bit of pressure, having lost Yashasvi Jaiswal for a 72-run opening stand and followed it off, watching the back of their captain Rohit Sharma in a very unfortunate way.
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Virat Kohli started in a great fashion, driving the ball for a boundary. Once he was settled into the middle, the fields opened up, and the experienced batter started to get the singles and doubles, which has been the biggest trademark of his batting.
The Delhi-born put up a partnership of 136 runs for the third wicket with Sarfaraz Khan, who looked in an aggressive mood and kept on nailing those boundaries and sixes more consistently. New Zealand felt the pressure licking those runs quite comfortably.
He celebrated his 31st half-century in the longest format of the game and soon reached the milestone of 9000 runs in the five-day form of the game. Virat Kohli joined Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, and Rahul Dravid on the list to achieve the milestone in their career. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) social media handle also congratulated him on that note.
Late, once he got his eyes in, Azaz Patel was nailed down to the ground for a beautiful over-boundary as the stand kept on putting more pressure on the visiting side. However, in an unfortunate way, the experienced batter was dismissed on the eleventh ball of the day on a decent knock of 70 runs, with the help of eight boundaries and one six at a strike rate of more than 70.
Last year, Virat Kohli put on 671 runs in eight games at an average of over 55 with a strike rate of more than 54, shouldering on a couple of half-centuries and as many as centuries with a best score of 186 against Australia in Ahmedabad.
Having done decently at number three, he also developed the records at the position with 167 runs in eight innings at an average of below 24 with his first fifty in that position. Virat Kohli has also drilled 936 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 44.57, with the help of four half-centuries and three centuries with a best score of 211.
India is making another trip to Australia for the five-match red-ball series of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, and if the Rohit Sharma-led side wants to claim their third consecutive series win down under, then the anticipation will be of a huge contribution from Virat Kohli.