Virat Kohli could add multiple fresh feathers to his already illustrious hat when India face West Indies in a two-match Test series in the Caribbean Island. A 2-0 victory in the series starting Thursday will make Kohli the Indian captain with most Test wins, while one century could help him equal Ricky Ponting’s tally of 19 Test hundred as a skipper. Kohli currently has 18 Test tons as an Indian captain and needs one more to equal the legendary Australian skipper. Virat Kohli Excited to Be Part of Inaugural World Test Championship, Says ‘Competition in Test Cricket Is Up Two-Folds.'
Graeme Smith tops the illustrious list with 25 tons. As many as eight Australian batsmen are present in the top 10 of most Test centuries scored by a captain. Former Australia skippers Allan Border, Steve Smith and Steve Waugh are all tied on 15 Test centuries and occupy the fourth, fifth and sixth places in the list respectively. Virat Kohli One Win Away From Equalling MS Dhoni’s Test Captaincy Record of Most Wins as Indian Captain.
Don Bradman, Michael Clarke, Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and Brian Lara of West Indies complete the top 10. All four have 14 Test hundred respectively. Sunil Gavaskar is the next best Indian after Kohli in the prestigious table. The original ‘Little Master’ scored 11 centuries. MS Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly have five tons each.
Meanwhile, Kohli-led India will aim for a series white-wash when they face West Indies in a two-match Test series starting Thursday. The series in the Caribbean Island will also kick-start India’s World Test Championship campaign. India, ranked no 1 in Tests, will aim to build on their historic win in Australia earlier this year making them overwhelming favourites. Jason Holder’s men, however, beat England in their last home series and will be up for the challenge especially after the limited-overs' humiliation.
Talking about the Test Championship, Kohli said "People have been talking about Test cricket not being relevant or dying down. For me, the competition has gone up two-fold in the last couple of years. It's up to the players to take the challenge and go for victories. That's going to be the essence of this Test championship as well. There will hardly be any boring draws, there will be exciting draws because everyone will want those extra points."
The first Test will be played from August 22-27 at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua, while the second game will be played at Sabina Park in Kingston and will be held from August 30 to September 4.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 21, 2019 03:14 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).