IND vs SA: Virat Kohli Surpasses VVS Laxman To Become India's Fourth Best Scorer In Test Cricket

Virat Kohli’s 76 went in van as India lost to South Africa by an innings and 32 runs. The Men in Blue were bundled out for 131 runs in the second innings and more than half of the runs were scored by Kohli alone.

It was yet another disappointing batting performance from the Indian batting lineup. Nine of the 11 Indian batters scored in single digits with four ducks in the innings. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma scored 5 and 0 in the two innings which was another major concern.

Virat Kohli was the only stand-out batter in the Indian second innings who seemed to cope with the pitch in Centurion. He hit 12 fours and two sixes during his innings. In the process, he went past VVS Laxman to become the fourth-highest run-getter for India in Test cricket.

Kohli surpassed Laxman’s tally of 8781 runs that he scored in 134 Test matches. Koli after his recent knock is fourth on the list with 8790 runs from 112 matches. The former Indian skipper now has 29 Test tons, seven double tons, and 30 fifties in the format.

Also Read: IND vs SA: Temba Bavuma Ruled Out Of 2nd Test; Dean Elgar Named Captain

Virat Kohli also went past a few other records as well during his innings of 76 in Centurion. Apart from overtaking Laxman, Kohli also equaled Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman as the other two batters along with him to score four-fifty-plus scores in Test matches in South Africa. Apart from that, he also became the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to score over 7000 international runs in SENA countries.

Virat Kohli Gets To Fourth On The List Of Most Test Runs For India

India capped off some other records as well as a team courtesy of their loss in the first Test in Centurion. This was their fifth straight defeat in SENA countries in the last five Test matches. One of them was the WTC final loss to Australia at The Oval in 2023. This inning defeat was the first under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy and only India’s third since the start of 2015. Overall, this was the first-inning defeat against South Africa since 2011.

India’s dream of winning a Test series in South Africa remains a dream with the first Test loss. Skipper Rohit Sharma sounded very dejected at the post-match press conference and said that the batters did not adapt well to the conditions and overall the team was not good enough to win.

“We were not good enough to win. Having been put into bat, KL batted well to get us that score but then we didn’t exploit the conditions with the ball and then again didn’t show up today with the bat. If we have to win Test matches, we have to come together collectively and we didn’t do that. Guys have come here before, we know what to expect and everyone has their own plan. Our batters were challenged and we didn’t adapt well” said Rohit.

The second Test will be played in Cape Town from January 3-7 with India still within a chance to level the series. With a few batters and bowlers underperforming India’s team combination for the second Test will be an interesting observation.

Also Read: IND vs SA: “On Days Like This Captain Needs To…” – Rohit Sharma After 1st Test Loss