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BENGALURU: India’s star batter Virat Kohli on Friday, became only the fourth Indian batter to accumulate 9000 runs in Test cricket.
The right-handed batter achieved the milestone, courtesy of his 31st half-century during the ongoing rain-hit opening Test against New Zealand.
Consequently, Virat Kohli joined an illustrious list of Indian batters, featuring the likes of batting great Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar.
The 35-year-old, however, is the slowest of them all, taking 197 innings.
Indian Batters To Score 9000 Runs in Tests
Rahul Dravid – 176 innings in 2006
Sachin Tendulkar- 179 innings in 2004
Sunil Gavaskar – 192 innings in 1985
Virat Kohli – 196 innings in 2024*
Meanwhile, Kohli played a pivotal role in leading India’s fightback against New Zealand in the rain-hit fixture, which earlier saw them succumb to their lowest Test total at home in the first innings.
India got to 231/3 at Stumps, trailing New Zealand by 125 runs after Glenn Phillips dismissed Virat Kohli on the final delivery of the day.
The home side got off to a steady start as Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Rohit Sharma added 72 runs for the first wicket.
The opening stand lasted when Ajaz Patel got Jaiswal stumped on an anchoring 35, which featured six boundaries.
Rohit, known for his aggressive strokeplay, soon raced to his half-century in 59 balls but failed to convert it into a big knock as he too, fell victim to Patel.
He struck eight fours and a six on his way to a 63-ball 52.
India’s batting maestro Virat Kohli was then joined by young Sarfaraz Khan and the duo unleashed the demolition of New Zealand bowlers with a marathon stand, which yielded 136 runs.
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For New Zealand, Ajaz Patel bagged two wickets while Phillps had one to his name.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand resumed their first innings at 180/3 with Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell, unbeaten on 22 and 14 respectively.
The duo, however, could add 13 runs to their overnight partnership as Mohammed Siraj got rid of Mitchell, who managed 18.
The visitors lost three more wickets in quick succession and had slipped to 233/7 but an astounding eighth-wicket partnership between Rachin Ravindra and Tim Southee set New Zealand to amass a massive total.
The pair frustrated Indian bowlers and added 147 runs for the eighth wicket until Siraj finally sent Southee packing after a defiant 65 with the help of five fours and four sixes.
Meanwhile, Rachin Ravindra was the last man to be dismissed as New Zealand were booked on 402.
Ravindra remained the top-scorer for the BlackCaps with a sensible 134, peppered with 13 fours and four sixes.
Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav bagged three wickets each, followed by Siraj with two, while Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin shared two between them.
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