Virat Kohli played his 200th international game on Indian soil during the third Test match between India and Australia in Indore. In the four-match series, which India currently leads 2-0, the Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel have been the standout performers for the home team. Whereas, entering the world of international cricket in 2008, Virat has been a cornerstone of India’s dominance at home as well as outside the home conditions.
He has so far amassed 10,829 runs in 221 innings at an average of 58.22 in 199 home games. At home, he has recorded 34 centuries and 51 half-centuries, with a top mark of 254*.
#ViratKohli has been a pillar of India's home domination ever since he hit the international cricket scene in 2008 #INDvAUS #INDvsAUS https://t.co/sItecsShiP
— CricketNDTV (@CricketNDTV) March 1, 2023
But Virat, who has been looking for massive runs in the lengthier format since 2020, will be under pressure this time. For someone of his stature, his performance in the years 2020 (116 runs in three matches at an average of 19.33, with one fifty in six innings), 2021 (536 runs in eleven matches at an average of 28.21, with four fifties in 19 innings), and 2022 (265 in six matches at an average of 26.50, with one fifty in eleven innings) is far too underwhelming.
Virat looked in complete rhythm during his brief innings of 44 and 20 runs in both innings of the second Test in Delhi, though, and Team India will be hoping that their top batsman will end his three-year run of big runs, which will also increase India’s chances of qualifying for the ICC World Test Championship finals, which will be held in London from June 7 onward.
