After his recent debacle in New Zealand as a player and also as a captain, the fans have questioned Virat Kohli’s ability to play Test cricket in overseas conditions. The right-handed batsman has a fantastic record at home as no team has been able to beat India on their home soil under the leadership of Virat Kohli. The Delhi-born batsman has led his team from the front with several big innings at home.
But, not many fans would know that Virat Kohli has a better record in overseas conditions than what his numbers of the New Zealand tour suggest. Virat was the biggest star of the Indian team in the 2014-15 Test series against Australia and he also played a leading role for the team in the 2018 series against England.
To solidify the claims that Virat Kohli is an outstanding batsman even in overseas conditions, we bring to you his top 5 overseas Test records.
Only Asian captain to win a Test series in Australia
Cricket is one of the most followed sports in the Asian continent yet none of the teams could win a Test series against Australia Down Under. Several great captains like MS Dhoni tried to their luck in Australia however, only Virat Kohli could defeat the Australians on their own soil when he led India to a historic win in the year 2018-19.
Highest 4th wicket stand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Moving forward from captaincy, Virat Kohli has an individual record to his name at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. Playing with Ajinkya Rahane, the Indian skipper stitched a magnificent partnership of 262 runs for the fourth wicket in a Test match played between India and Australia. The duo of Rahane and Kohli is the only Indian entry on the list of highest partnerships by a wicket in MCG.
Only Indian captain to score an overseas Test double hundred
A lot of great men have captained India in its rich history of Test cricket. Almost every captain of the Indian Test team specialized in batting, only one captain could register a double hundred in foreign conditions and that was none other than Virat Kohli. The right-handed batsman achieved this feat in the year 2016 while playing against West Indies at Antigua.
Only Indian captain to score hundreds in first 3 overseas innings
While the other Indian Test captains have struggled to register three overseas hundreds in their entire career, Virat Kohli achieved this feat in his first three innings only. Virat Kohli led the Indian team for the first time in the longest format of the game against Australia. He registered twin centuries in Adelaide and then followed it up with a 140 runs knock at Sydney.
Best 100 conversion in overseas Test matches
To bat in foreign conditions is a very tough job forget about converting a 50 into a hundred. However, Kohli has the best conversion in overseas Test matches. He has breached the 50 runs milestone in 26 times outside India and on 14 occasions, he went on touch the triple digits. Virat Kohli has 14 Test hundred and 12 fifties outside India.
