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IND vs NZ: Virat Kohli plays a leg glance (AP)
Virat Kohli became 4th Indian batter after Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar to score 9000 runs in Test cricket.
Virat Kohli reached the 9000-run milestone during day three of the first test between India and New Zealand at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.
India vs New Zealand: 1st Test, Day 3 – LIVE
After scoring a duck in the first innings, Kohli knocked off the 53 runs, which he needed to reach the mark and became the fourth Indian batter after Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar to score 9000 or more runs in Test cricket.
Tendulkar, who retired from international cricket in 2013, holds the record for scoring most runs for India in Tests. He finished his career with 15,921 runs in 200 Tests. Dravid is second on the list with 13,265 runs in 163 Tests for India and is followed by Gavaskar, who amassed a total of 10,122 runs in 125 Tests. Of the four, Kohli is the slowest to reach the milestone in terms of innings taken (197).
Ahead of the match, Kohli had 8947 runs to his name in 115 Tests played so
Most runs for India in Tests
- Sachin Tendulkar – 15921
- Rahul Dravid – 13265
- Sunil Gavaskar – 10122
- Virat Kohli – 8947
- VVS Laxman – 8781
Apart from becoming the fourth Indian cricketer to score 9000 runs in Tests, Kohli will also have a chance to become the third Indian batter after Dravid and Tendulkar to score 1000 runs in Tests against New Zealand.
Ahead of the match, the Delhi-born cricketer, who made his Test debut in June 2011, has 866 runs to his name in 11 matches. A total of four Indian batters—Dravid, Sachin, Virender Sehwag, and Cheteshwar Pujara—have scored more runs against Black Caps in Tests than him.
Kohli needs 134 runs to join the 1000-run mark, and if he manages to do so, then he will also break Pujara and Sehwag’s records of 867 and 883 runs, respectively.
Most runs for India in Tests vs New Zealand
- Rahul Dravid – 1659
- Sachin Tendulkar – 1595
- Virender Sehwag – 883
- Cheteshwar Pujara – 867
- Virat Kohli – 866
Kohli has struggled to score big runs in 2024, and in 16 matches played so far across formats, he has managed to cross the 50-run mark only once. The right-handed batter will be desperate to come up with a much improved show in the home series against the Black Caps and help the Rohit Sharma-led side whitewash the Tom Latham-led side in his first series as full-time captain of the New Zealand Test cricket team.
