Virat Kohli is a name that doesn’t need any introduction. He is an icon, not only for the Indian team but worldwide. He is arguably one of the greatest batsmen of this era and shows his skill in all three formats of the game. Kohli has been amazing with his performances across all formats over the last few years. Virat is especially known for his chasing skills, which also gave him the name “Chase Master.” He has always stood up whenever the team needed him and gave consistent performances.
World Cup 2023 saw “The Run Machine” break the record of Sachin Tendulkar’s most centuries in ODI cricket. But in this article, we will have a look at double centuries by Virat Kohli in test cricket. Test cricket is considered one of the toughest formats of the game as it is long and one test match consists of five days. But Virat is the only Indian batsman to score the most double hundreds in this format.
1) 200 vs West Indies (2016)
The 2016 version of Virat Kohli was really exceptional, as he delivered incredible performances the whole year. Kohli looked unstoppable that year. 2016 was also the year when he scored his maiden double century. Virat scored 200 runs in July 2016 in the North Sound while India was batting first. The team declared their innings at 566/8 and bowled out West Indies for 243 and 231 runs in two innings, winning the match by 92 runs.
2) 211 vs New Zealand (2016)
Just after scoring his maiden double century in July 2016, Virat Kohli repeated this feat just two months later, again in October 2016. This time the opponent team was New Zealand. While batting first, India declared their innings at 557/5, with Virat scoring 211 runs and Ajinkya Rahane scoring 188 runs. Both players laid the foundation for the team. New Zealand could score only 299 runs in reply. In the second inning, India made 216/3 and set a 475-run target. New Zealand was bowled out at 153 and India won the match by 321 runs.
3) 235 vs England (2016)
Virat Kohli scored his third double century the same year (2016) in December. In the fourth test of the series, England scored 400 runs in the first inning. In reply, Indian batsmen played fabulous innings, with Virat leading the team with 235 runs. Murali Vijay and Jayant Yadav scored 136 and 104, respectively. England went all out for just 195 in the second inning and lost the match by 36 runs and an inning.
4) 204 vs Bangladesh (2017)
Virat Kohli got off to a great start to the year 2017 as he smashed his fourth double century in the test against Bangladesh. While batting first, India scored a massive 687/6. When India came to bat, Virat became the leading run scorer with 204 runs. Other Indian batsmen, Murli Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha, also scored centuries, with 108 and 106* being their respective scores. Bangladesh scored 388 runs in reply. In their second inning, India added 159 more runs and declared, giving Bangladesh a target of 459 runs. Bangladesh was bowled out for 250 runs and lost the match by 208 runs.
5) 213 vs Sri Lanka (2017)
When Sri Lanka came to India in November, 2017 for the test series, the second match saw Kohli create history again. Sri Lanka chose to bat and scored 205 runs in the first inning. In reply, India scored mammoth 610 runs that included 213 runs by Virat Kohli. He was supported by Murli Vijay (128), Cheteshwar Pujara (143) and Rohit Sharma (102*). Sri Lanka was dismissed for 166 runs and lost the match by an innings and 239 runs.
6) 243 vs Sri Lanka (2017)
Right after scoring his fifth double century in November 2017, “King Kohli” scored his sixth double century in the very next game against Sri Lanka. In December 2017, In the first inning, India declared their innings at 536/7. Virat Kohli scored 243 and Murali Vijay smashed 155 runs. Sri Lanka replied with 373 runs. In the second inning, India scored 246/5 and set a target of 410. The game ended in a draw and Sri Lanka’s score was 299/5.
7) 254* vs South Africa (2019)
In October 2019, Virat scored his 7th double hundred in test cricket. He went on to score 254 runs and stayed not out. This is also his best score in tests. While batting first, India scored 601/5 and declared the inning. Mayank Aggarwal also scored a century (108) in the first inning, which set the tone for the team and then came Virat with his bat, scoring 254 runs that included 33 fours and two sixes. In reply, South Africa scored 275 and 189 in their first and second innings, respectively. India won that match by 137 runs and an inning.
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