Virat Kohli, the former Indian captain, and batting legend will hope to find his past form and help India win when he takes the field against England on Friday in the rescheduled Test at Edgbaston. The 33-year-old has struggled to score big runs in the last couple of years and would be eager to overcome that lean patch.
Even though Indian batting legend Virat Kohli has been struggling to score big runs for quite some time now, there is no denying the fact that whenever he steps in, fans and cricket experts alike feel that the day when the talismanic cricketer will break the unwanted record of not being able to score a century in international cricket has arrived.
Virat Kohli Who Had A Forgetful 2022 Has Extra Burdens On His Shoulders In The Absence Of KL Rahul And Rohit Sharma
Scoring a hundred is a big feat in cricket, and it is not an easy task to reach the three-figure mark. But for someone like ex-India skipper Virat Kohli, who has scored as many as 70 in his first 11 years, it was like a cakewalk. Virat Kohli was known for building innings and playing big knocks, but it has been more than 31 months now since he last reached the three-figure mark.
He had a forgetful 2022 so far where he failed miserably in the IPL 2022 as well. But the Indian star batter will hope to forget the past and make a fresh start in the one-off Test against England, which starts at Edgbaston on Friday (July 1).
In the absence of Rohit Sharma (Covid-19 Positive) and KL Rahul (injured), there will be extra responsibility on Virat Kohli’s shoulders, and he’s someone who has fared well in such situations. So the fans will expect him to deliver one more batting masterclass and help India win the game and series.
Virat Kohli is one of the most prolific batsmen in the history of the game but has struggled in recent months. The batting superstar has not managed to hit a single century since 2019. And his indifferent form continued in IPL 2022 where he looked good only in patches.
For most of IPL 2022, the right-handed batsman looked like a pale shadow of his usual self. In 16 games this year, he managed to score only 341 runs at an average of 22.73 and a poor strike rate of 116. Virat Kohli, India’s former captain, has now gone more than 70 innings without his 71st international hundred, since that phenomenal 136 against Bangladesh in India’s historic Pink Ball Test in Kolkata in November 2019.
Virat Kohli Needs 40 Runs More To Join Sachin Tendulkar And Sunil Gavaskar To Score 2000 Runs Against England
Apart from the big goal of contributing to India’s win, the right-handed batter will also look to achieve some personal batting milestones against hosts England and match the feat of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar.
If the 33-year-old manages to score 40 runs in the forthcoming Test, he will become only the third Indian cricketer after the two legendary Mumbaikars to score 2000 Test runs against England. Virat Kohli currently has 1960 runs against England from 48 innings in 27 Tests which he scored at an average of 43.55.
He has five centuries to his name against England, three of which came on the 2018 tour. He also scored nine fifties but was out without scoring on six occasions as well.
Sachin Tendulkar is the leading run-getter for India against England. In 53 innings of 32 matches against the European side, he amassed a total of 2535 runs at an average of 51.73. He has 7 centuries and 13 fifties to his name and was never dismissed on duck. During his playing days, Sunil Gavaskar scored 2483 runs against the English team in 67 innings of 38 matches.