Ganesh Kendale
NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli marked his return to form in Test cricket with his first half-century of the year, delivering it just when India needed him the most in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand on Friday.
After reaching his half-century, Kohli became the fourth Indian batter to surpass 9,000 runs in Test cricket, joining the ranks of legends like Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Rahul Dravid (13,265), and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122).
However, Kohli took the longest to reach this milestone, achieving it in 197 innings.
Gavaskar achieved this milestone in 192 innings in 1985 while Tendulkar took 179 innings to score 9000 Test runs in 2004. Dravid was the last Indian cricketer to achieve this feat in 2006 and also the fastest in terms of the fewest innings of 176.
Notably, Kohli reached his first 8000 runs in March 2022 but took more than two and half years to reach the 9000-run mark. Kohli took 70 balls to register his 60th fifty-plus score in red-ball cricket and first since December 2023.
After being dismissed for a duck in the first innings, Kohli redeemed himself in the second, patiently taking 15 balls to get off the mark. Once he settled in, there was no stopping him, as he effortlessly accumulated runs with ease.
In four Tests this year, including the first innings against New Zealand, Kohli has managed to score just 157 runs across seven innings at an average of 26.16, with no half-centuries and a highest score of 47.
