NEW DELHI:
Virat Kohli
was in stupendous form from 2016 to 2018. The former Indian captain notched up more than 1000 runs in Test cricket in each of these three years.
In the year 2017, Virat scored 1059 runs in 10 Test matches with a highest score of 243 at an average of 75.64 that came with the help of 5 hundreds.
Bangladesh played their first Test on Indian soil at Hyderabad in February 2017 and were, almost immediately, hit by the Virat Kohli storm.
Virat notched up his fourth successive double century in four consecutive series, going past Don Bradman and
Rahul Dravid
who had done it in three successive series.
Kohli's 204, coupled with opener Murali Vijay's 108,
Ajinkya Rahane
's 82 and Wriddhiman Saha's unbeaten 106 enabled India to declare their first innings at 687/6. India became the first team to post three successive scores of 600-plus as they piled up 687/6 declared.
Taskin Ahmed, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam all conceded more than 100 runs in their toiling spells.
On Day 4,
Ravichandran Ashwin
completed 250 Test wickets, becoming the quickest to the landmark. Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim hit 127 to take Bangladesh to 388, but captain Kohli chose not to enforce the follow-on.
India declared their second innings at 159/4 to give Bangladesh an improbable 459-run target.
Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took four wickets each to dismiss Bangladesh for 250, as India won by 208 runs to register their sixth successive series win in their 19th consecutive Test without a defeat.
Records that Virat Kohli had broken in the Hyderabad Test in 2017:
- 4: Number of consecutive Test series in which Kohli smashed a double ton, including 204 against Bangladesh. It's a world record, beating Don Bradman and Rahul Dravid's landmark of scoring double centuries in three successive series.
- 31: Number of Indian captains before Kohli, who collectively scored 4 double tons while leading India (Tiger Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni made 1 each). Virat alone scored 4 double tons as skipper.
- 1,168: Runs scored by Kohli in 15 innings at an average of 89.8, including four centuries and two fifties, in the 2016-17 home season. It's the most Test runs scored by an Indian in a home season, outstripping Virender Sehwag's 1,105 runs (average 69.1) in 2004-05.
- 3,036: Runs scored by Kohli in international cricket (a combined total of all three versions in 44 games) at an average of 82.1 since January 1, 2016 - the most by any batsman in the world.
- 75: Kohli became the only cricketer to average above 75 in all three versions (Tests: 83, ODIs: 84, T20: 77) of the game since January 2016.
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