The Indian skipper has yet done it once again. Consistency sparks in the captain's efforts as Virat Kohli slams a double ton against Sri Lanka in the 2nd Test at Nagpur. Breaking records and raising the bar, Kohli has now recorded the most number of International cricket centuries in a year by a captain. The right-handed batsman smashed his 19th Test ton on Day 3 in the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on Sunday.
The hosts have already tightened their grip on the second Test against Sri Lanka courtesy some brilliant batting performances by Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and now skipper Kohli. India have declared 610/6 on Day 3 of the 2nd Test in the skipper's favourite smashing grounds. Kohli surely does get riled up every time he sets foot in Nagpur.
The Indian skipper has surely led by example as he continues his fine form. Despite lack of rest since the IPL this year, the skipper has surely seemed to shoulder the responsibilities comfortably.
This was also Kohli's 12th hundred as India captain, he surpassed the great Sunil Gavaskar who had 11 tons against his name. Kohli consolidated India's position in the Test as he reached the landmark in 130 deliveries hitting 10 boundaries. This was his fourth hundred against Sri Lanka and second on the trot in this series.
Kohli has also tied West Indies legend Brian Lara for the most number of double centuries as captain.
Kohli along with Chetestwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma piled on Sri Lanka's misery in the second Test of the three-match series with the first Test drawn.
Interestingly, this is Kohli’s 10th international hundred across all formats in this calendar year which is the most by any captain. With this knock, the 29-year old batsman also went past Ricky Ponting (2005 and 2006) and Graeme Smith’s (2005) tally of 9 hundreds in a calendar year, the former Australian captain achieved this feat twice in his career.
Kohli reached the landmark with a single off the off the fifth ball of the 119th over, facing Sri Lankan speedster Suranga Lakmal. The landmark also took Kohli past the 3000-run mark against the Islanders across all formats.
Kohli also has the third-best conversion rate as far as converting fifties to hundred is concerned. Sir Don Bradman leading the list with George Headley at the second spot.
Kohli now has the same number of Test tons as Clive Lloyd, Mark Taylor, Gordon Greenidge, Len Hutton and Michael Hussey. In the list of most number of international hundreds, Kohli sits at number eighth behind Brian Lara (53), Mahela Jayawardene (54), Hashim Amla (54), Jaques Kallis (62), Kumar Sangakkara (63) Ricky Ponting (71) and master blaster Sachin Tendulkar (100), who is the only cricketer to get 100 international hundreds.
