Indian Test captain Virat Kohli created history by becoming the first Indian batsman to notch up three double centuries in a calendar year during the ongoing Test against England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
Before Kohli, only four batsmen – Sir Don Bradman (1930), Ricky Ponting (2003), Michael Clarke (2012), and Brendon McCullum (2014) – had achieved the same. Clarke leads the list with four double centuries, while the other three batsmen managed three each.
Kohli has the opportunity to equal Clarke’s record as he still has one Test left this year, which will be against England at Chennai.
Interestingly, before this year, the Delhi batsman did not have a single double century in first-class cricket to his name. That changed in the first Test he played in 2016 – against the West Indies at North Stand.
Kohli suffered a bit of a slump in form after that, but returned to his best with another double hundred in the third Test in the series against New Zealand at Indore.
There has been no looking back for the Indian skipper after that as he has managed to slam two centuries in the series against England. Only once has Kohli been dismissed for less than 50 and that was when he was dismissed hit-wicket.
Kohli was eventually dismissed for 235 on Sunday, the highest score by an Indian captain in an international match.
Here, we look at the batsmen with the most double centuries in a calendar year.
| Player | Team | 200s | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Clarke | Australia | 4 | 2012 |
| Sir Don Bradman | Australia | 3 | 1930 |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 3 | 2003 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 3 | 2014 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 3* | 2016 |
