Virat Kohli clocked these jaw-dropping numbers in Test cricket
What's the story
Former Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has announced his retirement from Test cricket.
He broke the shocking news through a social media post on May 12.
The 36-year-old cricketer made his Test debut against West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica in 2011.
His phenomenal journey includes 30 centuries and many other milestones.
Here we decode his stellar numbers in the format.
Stats
Fourth-most Test runs for India
Kohli featured in 123 Test matches for India, scoring 9,230 runs at 46.85. He has 30 tons and 31 fifties under his belt.
Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Rahul Dravid (13,265), and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122) are the only Indians ahead of Kohli in terms of Test runs.
Meanwhile, in 55 home Test matches, Kohli owns 4,336 runs at 55.58. In 66 away matches, he bagged 4,774 runs at 41.51.
Numbers
Highest batting average as captain
As per ESPNcricinfo, Kohli scored an astonishing 5,864 runs in 113 Test innings as India's captain, averaging a phenomenal 54.80..
No other captain with at least 5,000 runs averages even 52 in this regard.
Australian talisman Ricky Ponting (51.51) trails Kohli on this list.
Meanwhile, Kohli stands fourth on the list of batters with the most Test runs while leading the team.
Leading from the front
Second-most Test tons as captain
Kohli is also the Indian captain with the most Test centuries (20). He is way ahead of second-placed Sunil Gavaskar (11).
Only South Africa's Graeme Smith (25) has more tons in this regard on the global list.
Notably, Kohli scored hundreds in each of his first three innings as Test captain and that too on Australian soil.
Information
10 Test hundreds as captain in away Tests
10 of Kohli's 20 Test tons while leading India came in away matches. Graeme Smith (17) is the only batter with more hundreds away from home. With five centuries, Mohammad Azharuddin is the next Indian on this list.
200s
Most Test double-tons as captain
Kohli smashed seven double-tons in his illustrious Test career and each of them has come while leading the team.
No other batter has even six double-tons as a designated captain.
West Indies legend Brian Lara follows Kohli on this list with five such scores.
Coming to Kohli's compatriots, no other Indian has even multiple Test double-tons as a captain.
Kohli overall registered nine 150-plus scores as captain in the longest format, again the most for any batter.
Unmatched success
Fourth-most Test wins as captain
Kohli, who resigned as Test captain in 2022, remains India's most successful Test captain.
He took India to 40 wins out of 68 Tests with an incredible winning percentage of 58.82%.
Many had backed him to break Graeme Smith's record for most Test wins as captain (53).
Australian talismans Ponting (48) and Steve Waugh (41) are the only other captains with more Test triumphs than Kohli.
DYK
Double-tons in four successive series
Kohli's maiden Test double-hundred came in July 2016, against West Indies.
He touched the 200-run mark once in each of his following three series, against New Zealand, England, and Bangladesh - all at home.
The 36-year-old is hence the only batter to have scored a double-century in four consecutive Test series.
He had broken the record previously held by Don Bradman and Dravid, who had achieved the feat in three consecutive series.
Unique records
Here are his other unique records
In 2019, Kohli became the first Asian captain to win a Test series in Australia.
He also boasts the most consecutive Test series wins as captain (nine) and most hundreds by an Indian cricketer on Australian soil (seven).
Kohli owns the highest score by an Indian captain in Tests, having scored 254* versus South Africa in 2019.