Virat Kohli in action during the 4th Test
Depite losing the five-match Test series 3-1 to England in the fourth match in Southampton, India captain Virat Kohli has much to celebrate as he rode his record-breaking spree to sail with the tide. India suffered a 60-run loss in the fourth Test on Sunday after being dismissed for 184 while chasing a victory target of 245 set by England.
Unlike the rest of the men, Kohli remained a consistent scorer for India. He made 544 runs in eight innings at an average of 68 and scored two centuries to silence his critics. Prior to this, Kohli was receiving constant criticism for his dismal batting show in England during his last tour in 2014. In 2014, Kohli managed to score just 134 runs in five Test matches at a dismal batting average of 13.40.
In Southampton, Kohli became the first Indian captain to score 4000 Test runs. Besides this, he was the first Asian to score 500 Test runs in a series in England as captain. Among batsmen's chart for the same feat, Kohli was the third from his country.
The 29-year-old batsman also became the sixth batsman to score record Test runs against England. Legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar leads the list with 2535 runs against England, while Kohli has 1521 runs to his name from just 18 Test matches.
Kohli also retained his number one spot in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test batsmen rankings with a career-high 937 rating points, despite the defeat in the fourth Test against England.
The Delhi-born batsman is 11th on the list of best ever in terms of rating points, just one adrift of a group of four -- Gary Sobers, Clyde Walcott, Vivian Richards and Kumar Sangakkara, an ICC statement said on Monday.
Even though India lost the series to England with a match to spare, Kohli-led side pulled off an impressive 203-run win in the third Test in Nottingham. With the fifth and final Test starting on Friday at Kennington Oval, London, India will aim for a consolation victory to conclude the two-month long outing.
