WI vs IND: Virat Kohli surpasses Virender Sehwag to become India’s fifth highest run-scorer in Test cricket

Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Jio Cinema)

Indian batting stalwart Virat Kohli has leapfrogged legendary opener Virender Sehwag to become the fifth-highest run-scorer for India in Test cricket. The former India captain achieved another significant milestone in his career during the ongoing first Test against the West Indies at Windsor Park in Dominica.

Kohli shattered Sehwag’s record of 8503 runs, which he scored in 103 Test matches during his remarkable 12-year Test career. The 34-year-old batter, who was playing his 110th Test, needed only 25 runs to break the record of the former cricketer. He has now amassed a total of 8515 runs in the longest format of the game.

Kohli now finds himself in the elite company of some of the prominent names who have played the game. The legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar leads the list, accumulating an astounding 15,921 runs in his glorious Test career, followed by Rahul Dravid with 13,288 runs. Sunil Gavaskar, the first player to score 10,000 runs in red-ball cricket, is third with 10,122 runs, while VVS Laxman, famed for his exquisite stroke play, is fourth with 8,781 runs.

After making his Test debut against the West Indies in Kingston in 2011, the Delhi-born cricketer quickly established himself as a staple in the Indian batting order. Scoring over 8000 Test runs at an average of 48.72 and a strike rate of 55.34, Kohli has struck 28 centuries and 28 fifties. Additionally, his unbeaten 254* against South Africa in 2019 is the latter’s best score in red-ball cricket.

India ends Day 2 at 312/2, Jaiswal unbeaten at 143

Speaking of the ongoing first Test, India managed to draw a substantial lead over the West Indies on Day 2, thanks to remarkable centuries from the openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma (103). Courtesy of a record-breaking opening partnership by the openers, the tourists are 312/2 at Stumps on Day 2, taking a lead of 162 runs with Jaiswal (143*) and Virat Kohli (36*) at the crease. Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin’s five-wicket haul helped India to bundle out Kraigg Brathwaite and Co. by 150 runs.