Virat Kohli has been on a record-breaking spree for some time now and there could be a few more milestones on the horizon for the India skipper when his men take on England in the fourth Test at Southampton starting on Thursday.
Kohli’s 23rd Test ton helped India fight their way back into the five-match series with a 203-run win at Trent Bridge as he once again leapfrogged Steve Smith to claim the top ICC ranking for Test batsmen.
The win at Trent Bridge catapulted Kohli above MS Dhoni as the second most successful Indian Test skipper and the fourth overall with 22 victories from 38 matches.
The 29-year-old has made amends for his disastrous tour of England in 2014 by registering 440 runs so far in the three matches at an average of 73.33.
With two Tests still remaining, there are quite a few records Kohli could yet break in the English summer. Here, we take a look at those records.
SECOND FASTEST INDIAN TO 6,000 TEST RUNS
Kohli’s superb 103 in the second innings at Trent Bridge means he is now just six runs shy of the 6,000 run-mark in Test cricket.
Should Kohli notch up the remaining six runs in the first innings at Southampton, he will leapfrog Sachin Tendulkar to become the second fastest Indian batsman to the milestone.
Tendulkar’s 6,000th Test run came in his 120th innings while Kohli has played 118 innings so far in the format. Sunil Gavaskar holds the record for the fastest Indian batsman to do so with the legendary opener attaining the feat in only 117 Test innings.
Kohli could leapfrog Sachin Tendulkar in the list.
18,000 INTERNATIONAL RUNS
In 342 matches, the Indian skipper currently has 17, 875 runs under his belt combined in all three formats of international cricket. Should he be able to collect another 125 runs in the Southampton Test, Kohli will become the 15th batsman in history and the fourth Indian to register 18, 000 international runs.
The three Indian batsmen to achieve the feat before Kohli currently are Sachin Tendulkar (34,357), Rahul Dravid (24,208) and Sourav Ganguly (18,575).
The 18,000-mark beckons for Kohli.
MOST RUNS BY AN INDIAN BATSMAN IN A TEST SERIES IN ENGLAND
With 440 runs to his name in six innings so far, Kohli has another record set by Rahul Dravid in his sights.
In India’s tour of England in 2002, Dravid aggregated a total of 602 runs in the four Tests at an average of 123.80. That remains the most runs scored by an Indian batsman in a Test series in England.
Should Kohli score 163 runs or more in the remaining two Tests, he will become the Indian batsman to hold that accolade.
Dravid scored 602 runs in four Tests during India’s 2002 tour.
MOST RUNS BY AN INDIAN IN AN OVERSEAS TEST SERIES
This record too remains on Kohli’s horizon but it will take some doing by the Indian batsman to break it. Sunil Gavaskar’s debut international series was one to remember with the Indian opener amassing 774 runs in eight innings away to the mighty West Indies in 1970-71.
Scoring four centuries including a double ton in the series in the Caribbean, Gavaskar announced himself to the cricketing world in some style.
His contributions led India to their maiden Test series win in the West Indies and remain the highest tally by an Indian batsman in an overseas series.
Kohli will need to surpass his own personal best of 692 runs in eight innings in the Border-Gavaskar series during India’s tour of Australia in 2014-15.
Gavaskar’s record will be a tough one to break for Kohli.
