Virat Kohli has returned. And all the questions, criticisms, and talk about his century drought, his form, and eventual place in the side are now a distant memory. The discussion has now returned to normalcy, with all eyes on the records he can still break, with Sachin Tendulkar’s batting records serving as the ultimate prize. As the World Test Championship final approaches, Kohli is preparing to face his favorite team, Australia, at The Oval beginning June 7.
Kohli ended his international century drought last year in the Asia Cup tournament with an unthinkable T20I ton. Later in the Bangladesh series, he broke his duck in the Test format as well, breaking it in the Ahmedabad tie earlier in March in the Border-Gavaskar series.
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On Wednesday, India will begin their one-off match against Australia in the World T20 final, and Kohli will be aiming for a few milestones in the match, including those of Don Bradman and current India coach Rahul Dravid.
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If Kohli scores a century at the Kennigton Oval, it will be his 29th century in the format, tying him with Bradman’s career total. Among active cricketers, he will still be one century short of Australia’s Steve Smith, who currently holds the record with 30 centuries. Joe Root comes in second with 29 tons.
Kohli also has a chance to break Dravid’s record against Australia if he continues to perform at his peak, which he does every time he faces the Aussies. He has scored 1979 runs at 48.26 in 24 appearances against the side. If he scores 188 more runs, he will surpass Dravid’s record of 2166 runs against Australia, making him India’s third best batter against the opposition behind Tendulkar (3630) and VVS Laxman (2434).
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Kohli’s run total could also surpass Virender Sehwag’s career Test record of 8586 runs. Kohli, who has 8416 runs in 108 matches, is 170 runs short of the record. The achievement could propel the 33-year-old to the fifth-highest run-scorer in Tests history.