When Virat Kohli steps out to play his first innings in the third Test at the Wankhede Stadium against New Zealand, the former India captain will have drawn an intriguing quadrant of sorts at another significant checkpoint.
Kohli will gear up for his 200th innings in Test cricket and 600th overall in all internationals. Only 30 players, four Indians, have reached the 200-innings mark in Tests before him. Only seven have played at least 600 international innings before him, yet none have had as many runs as Kohli (27,129) while appearing at that milestone.
At this juncture, Kohli has nearly completed his legendary white-ball status within the 400 innings (283 ODIs and 117 T20Is) he has played. But the red-ball game has tested him to the hilt, particularly over the last four years, where his contributions have shrunk to its weakest.
Pune: India’s Virat Kohli walks back to pavilion after his dismissal on the third day of the second test cricket match between India and New Zealand, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, in Pune, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)
In retrospect, Kohli’s Test career found a phenomenal run-glut bang in the middle. Kohli’s latest phase, statistically, relates to his fledgling days in whites between 2011 and 2014. The two periods bear contrasting personas. In his first tours, the young Kohli had enjoyed success with early hundreds in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The nadirs were first felt then in England (2014). Kohli 3.0, now, has struck a plateau.
Kohli’s first 50 innings gathered him 1835 runs with six centuries and nine fifties at a passable 39.89 average.
In his previous 49 innings, Kohli has accumulated only 1634 runs at a lowly 34.77 average, marking the worst phase of his career. Kohli’s average is the lowest among the five Indian batters who have scored at least 1000 runs in this period. Despite this protracted dip in fortunes, Kohli’s haul of 9035 Test runs has only been improved upon by 12 other batters heading into their 200th innings. That stems from an unfettered run in the 100 innings between his 52nd and 151st walk out to the crease.
For 100 consecutive innings played, Kohli’s undisputed peak was marked between innings 52 to 151, plundering 5608 runs at 59.66 and 21 centuries. Interestingly, the numbers rank similar to that of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid – India’s two-highest Test scorers – who were coincidentally at their best between innings 67-166 in their respective careers.
Virat Kohli last featured in a domestic First-Class match in 2012. (Sportzpics)
It seems unlikely for Kohli to split Tendulkar (15,921) and Dravid (13,265) and finish career second on India’s Test run-getter charts. The all-format workload until recently and the pronounced dip in form will mean that Kohli will turn 36 next week having played nearly 60 Test innings less than Tendulkar and 26 fewer than Dravid.
A home 250
Kohli will also appear in his 250th innings across formats at home in Mumbai, with his stupendous 57.98 average for 12176 runs, ranking the best among all batters who have at least 7000 runs. Kohli’s 38 home tons come second only to Tendulkar (42).
Indians with 4000 home and away runs in Tests
Among the four Indians to have amassed at least 4000 runs at home and away, Kohli’s 56.98 home average reads the highest. It has held on despite a staggering dip in his last 20 innings, before which the average was dominantly above 65.
India’s Virat Kohli being bowled by New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner on the second day of the second test cricket match between India and New Zealand, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, in Pune. (PTI)
Yet, Kohli also has the highest home-away average differential among the top four Indians, with his overseas exploits only bearing about 42 runs per innings.
Most runs before turning 36
Tendulkar and Dravid between 36-38
Despite his supreme fitness, Kohli’s rapidly declining presence at the crease bears the danger of questions about his Test future. Leaning into 36, it is precisely when Kohli would seek inspiration from Tendulkar and Dravid, who created microcosms of their best, again between ages 36 and 38. In another stunning coincidence, both stalwarts recorded exactly equal (2697) runs in this phase between 2009 and 2012!
The descent has been telling for Kohli, who desperately needs a rubber-stop. The Wankhede, the venue of his maiden home Test innings and his second-highest Test score (235), shouldn’t be bad for a reset.
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