One of the best batters to have ever played the game of cricket is Virat Kohli. Born in the Indian capital state of Delhi, he represented his national team in all three formats of the game. He was the skipper of the Indian Cricket Team and the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL. He has played over 100 test matches for India and scored well above 8000 runs. Here, we will have a look at the top 10 test innings by the Indian star batter.
1. 167 Vs England
One of the important test knocks Kohli played was in 2016 when England played India in the second test at Visakhapatnam. Batting first, the home side lost two early wickets with just 22 runs on the board. It was then that captain Kohli came out to bat and played a brilliant innings to stabilise his team. He scored 167 runs off 267 balls, hitting 18 boundaries in the process. He, along with veteran batsman Pujara helped India cross the 450 mark in the first innings. India eventually won the match comprehensively and the Indian skipper was awarded the Man of the Match for his scintillating performance in both the innings.
2. 169 Vs Australia
The then vice-captain Virat Kohli scored yet another magnificent test century down under when the Indian team visited Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in late 2014. It was in the third test match at the famous MCG that Virat Kohli played a fine knock of 169 runs off 272 balls, staying at the crease for over six hours. In this innings too, he scored 18 boundaries to achieve this feat, striking at just over 60. His knock, along with Rahane’s 147 helped India score 465 runs in the first innings, in reply to the hosts’ total of 530. The match ended in a draw.
3. 186 Vs Australia
Virat Kohli broke his century drought by scoring a test century after 1204 days against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In reply to the visitors’ first innings total of 480, India scored 571, thanks to Kohli’s knock of 186 runs and Gill’s innings of 128 runs. Kohli spent 517 minutes at the crease and faced 364 balls, hitting 15 boundaries in total. The match ended in a draw.
4. 200 Vs West Indies
The former Indian captain scored his maiden double-century in the 1st test of the India tour of the West Indies series at North Sound in 2016. He spent 375 minutes at the crease and played 283 balls to reach this milestone. He hit twice a dozen boundaries in the process as well. Thanks to his brilliant knock, India reached a total of 566 in the first innings and eventually went on to win the test by an innings and 92 runs. This fantastic innings of his ranks 7th in this list.
5. 204 Vs Bangladesh
King Kohli scored his fourth test double-century against neighbours, Bangladesh when the latter visited India for a single test match in 2017. Coming out to bat first at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad, India posted a mammoth total of 687 runs in the first innings. Though wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha and opener Murali Vijay scored a century each, the star performer was none other than the captain himself. He faced just 246 balls to score 204 runs, striking at a rate of 82.92, hitting 24 boundaries as well in his innings. India went on to win the match by 208 runs and the Man of the Match award was given to the winning captain.
6. 211 Vs New Zealand
In October 2016, the Kiwis visited India for a 3-match test series. In the third test at Holkar, Indore, India batted first and accumulated a total of 557 runs. Leading from the front was none other than their captain Virat Kohli. Kohli scored 211 runs in this innings, hitting as many as 20 boundaries. He spent 536 minutes at the crease and faced 366 balls. Along with veteran batsman Ajinkya Rahane, he helped India build a massive partnership. India went on to win the match by a huge margin of 321 runs and whitewashed New Zealand 3-0 in the series.
7. 213 Vs Srilanka
Another superb knock the Indian captain played was in 2017 when neighbours Srilanka played against India in the second test at Nagpur in November. After dismissing the visitors for just 205 runs in their first innings, India came out to bat and posted a massive score of 610 on the board. Like most of the other occasions, the Indian captain Virat Kohli led the Indian innings from the front. He scored yet another double-century in this inning of his, facing just 267 balls. His innings comprised 17 boundaries and a couple of over-boundaries too. Because of this massive first innings total, India won the match by an innings and 239 runs and the run-machine Kohli was awarded the Man of the Match award.
8. 235 Vs England
Kohli scored yet another double century in 2016, this time against England at the famous Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the month of December. In the fourth test of the series, India posted a total of 631 runs on the board in the first innings, in reply to the visitors’ first innings total of 400. This time as well, the Indian captain led his team from the front and scored his third double century of 2016. Facing 340 balls, he went on to score 235 runs, hitting 25 boundaries and an over-boundary as well. He stayed in the crease for as long as 515 minutes. The hosts went on to win the match by an innings and 36 runs and the Indian captain received the Player of the Match award for his blistering knock.
9. 243 Vs Srilanka
The Indian veteran batsman Kohli scored his sixth test double century against the Lankan Lions when the two teams clashed against each other in the third test in December, 2017 at his hometown. It was another instance when Kohli led his team from the very front, like most of the other occasions. In India’s first innings, he smashed 243 runs off just 287 balls before being dismissed by Sandakan. He hit 25 boundaries in the process, and had a strike-rate of 84.66. It turned out to be a very high-scoring game and it ended in a draw as a result. Kohli was adjudged the Man of the Match for his mind-blowing knocks in both the innings.
10. 254* Vs South Africa
The most recent double century the former Indian captain has scored in tests happens to be the one against the Proteas in 2019. In the first cycle of the World Test Championship, the two nations locked horns against each other for a 3-match test series in 2019. In the second test of the series, held at Pune, the then-Indian skipper scored his career-best knock of 254 runs in the first innings. He spent over five hours at the crease, scoring 33 boundaries and a couple of sixes as well. Thanks to his valiant knock and Mayank Agarwal’s century, India posted a total of 601 runs on the board. The hosts went on to win the test match. The Man of the Match award was given to none other than Virat Kohli, for his unbeaten double-century.
