An era in which the 36-year-old was the unquestioned face of Test cricket came to an end earlier today when Kohli announced his retirement from the sport.
Throughout his 14-year Test career, the Indian cricket legend set numerous records and accomplished numerous milestones as a player and captain. These stats demonstrate why Virat is among the best players who have ever played in the game’s longest format.
This is a comprehensive retrospective of Virat Test career, presented through numerical data.
Highest Test run-scorers for India
15921 – Sachin Tendulkar
13265 – Rahul Dravid
10122 – Sunil Gavaskar
9230 – Virat
8781 – VVS Laxman
Highest century scorers for India in Test cricket
51 – Sachin Tendulkar
36 – Rahul Dravid
34 – Sunil Gavaskar
30 – Virat Kohli
Top Indian players with most Test double centuries
7 – Virat
6 – Virender Sehwag
6 – Sachin Tendulkar
5 – Rahul Dravid
Most Test double tons in a year by an Indian player
3 – Virat Kohli, 2016
3 – Virat Kohli, 2017
2 – Rahul Dravid, 2003
2 – Sachin Tendulkar, 2004
2 – Virender Sehwag, 2008
Indian batsmen with most Test hundreds vs one opponent
13 – Sunil Gavaskar vs WI
11 – Sachin Tendulkar vs AUS
9 – Virat Kohli vs AUS
9 – Sachin Tendulkar vs SL
8 – Sunil Gavaskar vs AUS
Top century scorers in Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests
10 – Steve Smith
9 – Virat Kohli
9 – Sachin Tendulkar
8 – Ricky Ponting
7 – Michael Clarke
Indian captain with the highest number of Test victories
40 – Virat Kohli
27 – MS Dhoni
21 – Sourav Ganguly
14 – Mohammed Azharuddin
12 – Rohit Sharma
Most Test match wins by a captain
53 – Graeme Smith
48 – Ricky Ponting
41 – Steve Waugh
40 – Virat Kohli
36 – Clive Lloyd
Highest success rate for a Test captain
71.9% – Steve Waugh (57 Tests)
62.3% – Ricky Ponting (77 Tests)
58.8% – Virat Kohli (68 Tests)
54.0% – Vivian Richards (50 Tests)
52.0% – Mark Taylor (50 Tests)
Top win rate for a Test captain at home
77.4% – Virat Kohli in India
75.9% – Steve Waugh in Australia
74.4% – Ricky Ponting in Australia
72.7% – Kane Williamson in New Zealand
70.0% – MS Dhoni in India
Batsmen who hit tons in both innings on their debut as Test captain
123 & 109* – Greg Chappell vs West Indies, Brisbane, 1975
115 & 141 – Virat vs Australia, Adelaide, 2014
Captain with the highest total runs in Tests
8659 – Graeme Smith
6623 – Allan Border
6542 – Ricky Ponting
5864 – Virat Kohli
5295 – Joe Root
Most Test hundreds by a captain
25 – Graeme Smith
20 – Virat Kohli
19 – Ricky Ponting
17 – Steve Smith
Other significant records held by Virat in Test cricket
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Best conversion rate from 50s to 100s for an Indian batter in Tests (minimum 25 centuries)
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Only Indian batter to average 75+ in multiple calendar years with 1,000+ runs (2016 & 2017)
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First Indian captain to lead a Test series victory in Australia (2018-19)
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India claimed the ICC Test Championship Mace after a 6-year gap in 2016
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Most Test series wins by an Indian captain in a single calendar year (9 wins in 2016)
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Most Test series wins for an Indian captain in England (3 – Nottingham, 2018 | Lord’s, 2021 | The Oval, 2021)
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