IND vs SA: Virat Kohli Surpasses Kumar Sangakkara In Elite List With 76-Run Knock In Centurion

Virat Kohli scored a defiant 76 as India were bowled out for just 131 in the second innings at Centurion. India lost the first Test by an inning and 32 runs, their fifth consecutive Test loss in SENA countries.

Virat Kohli scored 38 in the first innings and 76 in the second and seemed like the only Indian batter to come to terms with the Centurion pitch. None of the other batters could resist the pace from the South African bowlers. Nine Indian batters scored in single digits in the second innings including four ducks.

Kohli went past a few records during his 76-run knock in Centurion. He went past VVS Laxman’s tally of 8781 Test runs to become India’s fourth-highest run-getter in Test cricket. He now has scored 8790 runs in 112 Test matches. He also went past 7000 international runs against SENA countries and four fifty-plus scores on South African soil in Tets matches.

Virat Kohli achieved another major landmark. This is the seventh time Kohli has scored over 2000 runs across formats in a calendar year. He surpassed former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara who scored over 2000 runs six times in his career. The former Indian skipper ended 2023 with 2048 runs without playing a single T20I.

Also Read: IND vs SA: “It’s Not That We Don’t Know How To Bat Outside India” – Rohit Sharma After 1st Test Loss

Virat Kohli Surpasses Kumar Sangakkara In Rare Feat

Batters With Most 2000 Runs In A Calendar Year

Virat Kohi-7

Kumar Sangakkara-6

Sachin Tendulkar-5

Mahela Jayawardene-5

Jacques Kallis-4

Ricky Ponting-4

Sourav Ganguly-4

Virat Kohli last played a T20I for India in 2022 which was the final of the T20 World Cup 2022. Kohli scored 1377 runs in 27 ODIs at an average of 72.47 and a strike rate touching 100. He scored 765 runs in the 2023 ODI World Cup in 11 matches at an average of 95.62.

Kohli scored 671 runs in 8 Test matches this year at an average of 55.92 and a strike rate of 54.73. He scored two hundreds and two fifties this year. The former Indian skipper started the innings scoring 12 against Australia in Nagpur and ended it with a valiant 76 against South Africa in Centurion.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma pointed out at a few shortcomings from the Indian batters and bowlers and reasoned them for India’s loss in Centurion. Rohit himself scored 5 and 0 in the two innings of the first Test. He was dismissed by Kagiso Rabada twice in the first Test who has now dismissed him 8 times in Test matches.

Rohit further spoke about their batters being challenged and not adjusting to the conditions as well as they should have. He said that the lack of experience from the Indian bowlers playing in South Africa was one of the reasons why they could not perform as expected in the first Test.

“Our batters were challenged and we didn’t adapt well. This is a boundary-scoring ground, we saw them score many but we need to understand the opposition and their strengths as well. We didn’t bat well in both innings, that’s why we stand here. Not too many positives to finish the game within 3 days, but KL showed what we need to do on this sort of pitch. Our bowlers, a lot of these guys haven’t been here before so I don’t want to be too critical. Important for us to regroup, we go through these times as sportsmen and we need to be ready for the next Test now” said Rohit.

India now have a chance to level the series if they win the second Test in Cape Town starting from January 3, 2024.

Also Read: IND vs SA: Rohit Sharma Reveals Why Team India Does Not Play First-Class Practice Matches After Centurion Test Loss