- Friday, February 28, 2025
Virat Kohli will be one of India’s trump cards as the Asian powerhouse looks to win an ICC trophy after a gap pf 10 years.
By: Shubham Ghosh
Ace India batter Virat Kohli will be the cynosure when India take on Australia in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) final starting at The Oval on Wednesday (7). It is not only because the 34-year-old former India captain bounced back to form across all formats last year but also because he might shatter a number of records in the upcoming clash against one of his favourite opponents.
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Highest scorer in ICC tournament knock-out games
Kohli, who scored 1,919 runs in 24 Test matches against Australia at an average of 48 plus with eight hundreds, could topple former Australia captain Ricky Ponting and compatriot Sachin Tendulkar as the highest run scorer in the knock-out games of International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments.
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Kohli currently has scored 620 runs in ICC knock-out clashes in 15 knockout matches and 16 innings at an average of 51.66. Ponting has 718 runs in 18 innings and Tendulkar 657 runs in 14 innings. Kohli is yet to score a hundred in an ICC knock-out match, while Ponting has three and Tendulkar one.
Scoring most runs against a single bowler
The ace run-machine is also just 59 runs short of equalling teammate Cheteshwar Pujara, who has the record of scoring most runs against a single bowler. Pujara, who is also playing in the final, has taken 570 runs against Australia spinner Nathan Lyon, who is also playing at The Oval. Kohli has 511 runs against the off-spinner. The two other batters ahead of the former India captain are Steve Smith (520 runs against England seamer Stuart Broad) and former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara (531 runs against Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal).
Most international runs on England soil
Kohli could also eclipse Rahul Dravid, former India captain and the current head coach of the Indian team, to hit most international runs by an Indian batter on English soil. In England, Dravid has scored 2,645 runs in 46 matches and is followed by Tendulkar, who has 2,626 runs in 43 games. Kohli needs just 72 runs to reach the top of the table.
Completing 2k and 5k runs against Australia
It could be a special match for Kohli against Australia, the team he loves to bat against. As mentioned earlier, he has scored 1,919 runs against the Kangaroos in the long format and another 21 runs will see him completing 2,000. Overall, Kohli has scored 4,945 runs in 92 outings against Australia across all formats and another 55 will see him completing 5,000 against the same opponents.
Most appearance in ICC knock-out games
With 15 appearances in ICC knock-out matches, Kohli is currently joint third-highest with Tendulkar and former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The match at The Oval will see him become the only third highest with 16 outings and will be one less than former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh (17) and Ponting (18).
Scoring most number of Test hundreds against Australia
If he manages to hit a hundred at The Oval, Kohli will have the second most number of Test centuries against the Australians as an Indian batter. Tendulkar has the most number of tons against the same opponents from India — 11, followed by former opener Sunil Gavaskar and Kohli — eight each.
Scoring most hundreds in SENA countries
While not many Indian batter have been a prolific scorer in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia), Kohli has been among the few exceptions that also featured Tendulkar. The latter had scored 22 centuries across these four nations by the time he turned 34. Kohli has 21 at the moment and another ton at The Oval will see him equalling Tendulkar and back-to-back ones in two innings will see him overtaking the Master Blaster.
Fastest to 76 international tons
Kohli has 75 international centuries at the moment and if he manages to score the 76th in the upcoming final, he will reach the landmark (555 innings) faster than Tendulkar who took 587 innings.
Most international centuries against a team
Kohli has 16 international centuries against Australia and he is just behind Tendulkar (17 knocks against Sri Lanka), Don Bradman (19 against England) and Tendulkar (20 against Australia). While one three-figure score will see him equalling Tendulkar in the third spot, two such knocks will take him ahead of Tendulkar’s record against the Lankans.
Becoming first Indian to score a century in ICC final since 2000
The only Indian who has scored a century in the final of an ICC event is Sourav Ganguly who has achieved the feat against New Zealand in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2000. Kohli could equal that record as well if he scored a three-figure ton in the WTC final.
