Virat Kohli joins 9,000-run club in Tests with stellar knock in Bengaluru

Virat Kohli joined an elite group of cricketers by scoring his 9,000th run in Test matches during a fluent 70 on day three of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru. Kohli, who batted at No. 3 for the second time in this Test, turned the tables after being dismissed for a duck in the first innings on October 17. Prior to this match, Kohli had last batted at No. 3 in 2016 and had a modest average of 19.40 in that position. However, he showcased his class in the second innings, notching up his first Test half-century since December 2023. Alongside Sarfaraz Khan, Kohli forged a crucial partnership of 136 runs that revived India's innings.

Needing 53 runs to surpass the 9,000-run mark, Kohli reached his half-century off 70 balls, featuring five boundaries and a majestic six off Ajaz Patel. He then carefully accumulated the additional three runs needed to reach the milestone, taking a further nine balls.

According to Wisden, Kohli became the 18th player to score 9,000 runs in Test cricket and joined Joe Root and Steve Smith as the only active players in this exclusive club. He also became the fourth Indian to achieve this feat, following in the footsteps of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar.

In terms of innings taken to reach 9,000 runs, Kohli's 197 innings make him the sixth-slowest to achieve the milestone. The record for the slowest is jointly held by Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Steve Waugh, who both took 216 innings. Kumar Sangakkara holds the record for the fastest to 9,000 runs, achieving it in just 172 innings, followed by Smith and Dravid. Kohli is the slowest among the Indian players in this group, with Dravid taking 174 innings, Tendulkar 179, and Gavaskar 192.

Looking ahead, Kohli's next target on the all-time run-scoring list is Graeme Smith, who is currently over 200 runs ahead as per Wisden. Within the Indian context, Kohli needs another 1,100 runs to surpass Gavaskar for third place on India's all-time run-scorers list. With two more Tests against New Zealand and a five-Test series in Australia in December, Kohli is well-positioned to climb higher in the rankings by the end of the year. (ANI)