Kohli's UNBELIEVABLE Numbers!

Between 2014 and 2019, he scored 21 centuries in just 55 Tests.
Among these were seven double centuries, the most by an Indian in Test cricket.
Remarkably, six of those double tons came within a span of just 22 Tests.

Most Prolific Indian Batsmen In Test Cricket

Note: Dravid and Sehwag's tally includes runs scored for the ICC World XI.

Virat Kohli's Test career can be broadly divided into three distinct phases.

The first phase, from his debut in 2011 until August 2014, was a period of promise and learning.

During this time, Kohli offered glimpses of his immense talent but also faced his share of challenges, including inconsistent form and tough overseas tours.

The second phase, from late 2014 to the end of 2019, marked the peak of his Test career. It was a golden period where Kohli was at the height of his powers, piling on runs across conditions with remarkable consistency.

During these five years, he scored 21 centuries in just 55 Tests -- a staggering feat that underlined his dominance.

Among these were seven double centuries, the most by an Indian in Test cricket. Remarkably, six of those double tons came within a span of just 22 Tests, highlighting a phase where Kohli seemed unstoppable.

The final phase began in 2020 and was marked by a noticeable dip in form. The runs began to dry up, and centuries, once a regular feature of his batting, became rare. This decline became more pronounced from 2024 onwards, a period during which Kohli managed to average only 23.15 -- far below his lofty standards.

Together, these phases tell the story of a player who soared to incredible heights, endured tough lows, but always remained a central figure in Indian cricket.

Three phases of Virat's career

Between September 2016 and December 2018 Virat aggregated 3,309 runs, which is the highest aggregate by an Indian in any 50 innings-streak in Test cricket.

In all Test cricket, only six players have bettered Virat's tally.

Best 50 Innings Streaks In Test Cricket

Most Tests Double Hundreds By Indian Batsmen

Kohli led India in 25 Test series, winning 18, losing just six, and drawing one -- the rain-hit series against Bangladesh.

In his 68 Tests as captain, India won 40 matches under his leadership -- the most by any Indian skipper by a distance.

His record at home is nothing short of phenomenal. India did not lose a single home series during his tenure. Out of 31 home Tests as captain, Virat lost just two, underscoring a near-invincible run.

More impressively, India won 24 of those matches, with 18 of them coming by an innings margin or by 150 runs or more -- an emphatic display of dominance.

Kohli's impact was not limited to home conditions. He also led India to historic triumphs overseas, becoming the most successful Indian captain both at home and away.

His overall win percentage as captain stands at an impressive 58.82% -- the highest among all Indian captains in Test history.

In fact, across all of Test cricket, only two captains who have led in 50 or more matches boast a better win percentage than Kohli. His legacy as a leader is firmly etched in the record books, and his influence on Indian Test cricket will be felt for generations.

 

Virat Kohli As Captain

Most Test Wins By Indian Captains

India's Most Successful Test Captains (Minimum 10 Tests)

 

Most Successful Test Captains (Minimum 50 Tests)

For many players, the added responsibility of captaincy has weighed heavily on their batting. But for Virat Kohli, it had the opposite effect -- he thrived under pressure.

In fact, Kohli's batting reached new heights once he took on the leadership mantle. He scored twice as many centuries as captain than he did as a player, despite featuring in just 13 more Tests.

Of his 15 highest Test scores, 13 came while he was leading the side, including his career-best innings.

Kohli's numbers as captain are staggering. His batting average of 54.80 is the highest of any player who has captained in 50 or more Tests -- a testament to his consistency and class under pressure.

And no captain in Test history has scored more double centuries than Kohli's seven.

Far from being a burden, the captaincy brought out the very best in Virat Kohli the batter.

Virat As Player And Captain

Highest Batting Average As Captain in Tests (Minimum 50 Tests)

 

Most Double Hundreds By Captains In Tests

Virat's 50 innings streak discussed earlier came during his captaincy stint.

No other captain has ever had such a prolific run with the bat in Test cricket history.

Best 50 Innings Streaks In Test Cricket By Captains

 

• Made his Test debut aged 22 years 227 days against the West Indies at Kingston in June 2011, with scores of 4 and 15 while batting at number five.
• Scored 44 and 75 in the Perth Test against Australia in January 2012 to become the third youngest Indian to top-score in both innings of a Test after Sunil Gavaskar and Lala Amarnath.
• Scored his maiden Test hundred at Adelaide against Australia in January 2012 aged 23 years 82 days. Only Sachin Tendulkar (18 years 256 days) and Dattu Phadkar (22 years 46 days) were younger than Kohli when they scored a hundred on Australian soil.
• Became only the fourth Indian to score a hundred on Test captaincy debut after Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar when he notched up 115 against Australia at Adelaide in December 2014.
• Became only the second player in Test history to score hundreds in both innings of a Test on captaincy debut after Australia's Greg Chappell.
• At 26 years 38 days Virat became the youngest captain to score two hundreds in a Test, taking the record from Zimbabwe's Brendan Taylor.
• 147 at Sydney in the fourth and final Test of the 2014-2015 series against Australia gave Virat the unique distinction of scoring three hundreds in the first three innings as Test captain.
• Became the first Indian captain to win an away series after losing the first Test. Virat did so against Sri Lanka in 2015 where India lost the first Test at Galle, but then bounced back by winning the consecutive Tests in Colombo.
  Even at home only two Indians -- Ajit Wadekar and Sourav Ganguly -- accomplished this feat.
• By winning the 2015 series against Sri Lanka 2-1, Virat Kohli became the youngest Indian captain to win a series outside India. Mansoor Ali Khan, the nawab of Pataudi, was 27 years 67 days old while beating New Zealand in New Zealand in 1967-1968.
• Became the first Indian captain to score a double hundred outside India when he made 200 against the West Indies at North Sound in 2016.
• At North Sound, Virat became the first Indian captain to register an innings win over the West Indies in the West Indies.
  It was also the biggest win by innings margin for India outside the subcontinent.
• As India beat the West Indies at Gros Islet by 237 runs, Virat became the first Indian captain to win more than one Test in the West Indies.
• With his 211 against New Zealand at Indore in October 2016, Virat became the first Indian captain to score two double hundreds.
• By the 3-0 sweep against New Zealand, Vira became only the third Indian captain to make a clean-sweep in a series of three matches or more, after Mohammad Azharuddin (vs England in 1992-1993 and vs Sri Lanka in 1993-1994) and M S Dhoni (vs Australia in 2012-2013).
• By winning the series against New Zealand, Virat took the India to number one position in ICC Test rankings.
• By scoring 248 runs (167 + 81) at Vizag in November 2016, Virat established a new record of most runs by an Indian captain in a Test against England.
• By scoring 235 vs England at Wankhede in December 2016, Virat got the record of highest score by an Indian captain in Tests (he subsequently bettered the record twice!). He also became the first Indian to score three double hundreds in Tests in a calendar year.
• Virat's 655 runs against England in 2016-2017 are the most by an Indian against England in a series.
• Led India to nine Test wins in 2016 -- the most for any Indian captain in a calendar year.
• Between August 2015 and February 2017 Virat led India in 19 Tests without losing a single one! This is the longest streak for India without a defeat.
• By scoring 204 against Bangladesh at Hyderabad in February 2017 Virat became the first player in Test history to score double hundreds in FOUR consecutive series. Don Bradman and Rahul Dravid had scored double tons in three consecutive series.
• Virat ended the 2016-2017 home season with 1.252 runs -- the most any captain has aggregated in a home season. England's Graham Gooch had made 1,058 runs in the 1990 season.
• Virat's 213 against Sri Lanka at Nagpur in November 2017 gave him the record of most Test hundreds by an Indian captain, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar's tally of 11 hundreds.
• Became the first captain to score a hundred in each game of a three Test series (v Sri Lanka at Delhi in December 2017).
• Scored 610 in the home series against Sri Lanka in 2017, the most by an Indian in a three Test series.
• With the series against Sri Lanka, Virat became the first Indian to aggregate 600 runs in a series on three occasions. Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid have done so on two occasions each.
• Won 9 consecutive series as captain between 2015 and 2017 -- joint-most by a captain with Ricky Ponting.
• Became the highest run-scoring Indian captain in Tests at Johannesburg in January 2018, surpassing M S Dhoni's tally of 3,455 runs.
• Became No. 1 ranked batsman in the ICC Test rankings in August 2018, the first since Sachin Tendulkar in June 2011 to achieve this feat.
• Completed 4,000 runs as captain against England in 2018 and in doing so, became the fastest to reach this mark, taking only 65 innings. Brian Lara had taken 71 innings.
• In December 2018 Virat scored his 25th Test hundred (v Australia at Perth) in 127 innings, becoming the fastest Indian and the second fastest after Don Bradman (68 innings). Steve Smith bettered Virat's record in 2019.
• Became the first Indian, and also the Asian captain to win a Test series in Australia as India clinched the series 2-1 in January 2019.
• In September 2019 Virat became most successful Test captain for India, going past M S Dhoni's tally of 27 wins as India beat the West Indies 2-0 in the West Indies.
• In October 2019, Virat captained India for the 50th time in Test cricket (v South Africa at Pune).
  In the first innings of the Test, he scored an unbeaten 254, his highest score in Test cricket.
  This innings also made him the first Indian batsman to score seven double centuries in Test cricket.
  During the course of his innings, Virat also completed 7,000 Test runs.
• Completed 5,000 runs as captain against Bangladesh in November 2019 and in doing so, became the fastest to reach this mark, taking only 86 innings. Ricky Ponting had taken 97 innings.
  In the same match he also scored his 70th century in international cricket.
• In January 2022 Virat stepped down as Test captain, after losing the series to South Africa 2-1 in South Africa.
• In March 2022 Virat played his 100th Test (vs Sri Lanka), becoming the 12th Indian to play this many matches. He also completed 8,000 Test runs, becoming only the sixth player to accomplish this feat for India.
• In March 2023 Virat scored 186 against Australia at Ahmedabad, his first Test century in three years.
• In July 2023 Virat completed 25,000 runs in international cricket during his innings of 121 in the Port-of-Spain Test.
• In October 2024 Virat completed 9,000 Test runs, becoming only the fourth Indian to reach this landmark.

Performance Against Each Country

 

Performance In Each Country

 

Performance At Home And Away 

 

 

Virat In Won/Lost/Drawn Tests

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff