This Day That Year: Virat Kohli scored his maiden double century in Test matches
Scoring a double century in any format especially Test
cricket is a special achievement. The current Indian captain Virat Kohli
registered his first double century during the first Test match against West
Indies played at Sir Vivan Richards Stadium, Antigua on 22nd July
2016.
Indian captain Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat
first. Kohli came at the crease with the scoreboard reading 74 for 2. He looked
in a confident touch right from the word go and played according to the merit.
The pitch at Antigua was good to bat on with initial movement.
Kohli made the batting look easy and completed his fifty off 75 balls. At the
tea break, he remained not out on 65. After the interval, his dominating
batting continued with positive stroke play and running between the wickets
making life tough for West Indies bowlers.
After a 105 runs stand for the 3rd wicket,
Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed for 84. Kohli looked solid as ever and kept the
scoreboard ticking. He completed a well-deserved century off 134 balls. After
the milestone, he looked comfortable. At the end of day 1, Kohli remained not
out on 143.
Kohli continued from where he left on the first day and
completed his 150 off 208 balls. The West Indies took the 2nd new
ball soon but could not make the breakthrough. He and Ravichandran Ashwin put
hosts bowlers under pressure. Kohli was solid enough with his technique to
complete his maiden double century off 281 balls. India went into the lunch
break at 404 for 4.
Soon after the lunch break, Kohli was dismissed by Shannon
Gabriel for a superb 200 off 283. He spent a total of 375 minutes at the
crease. His innings laid a strong foundation as India declared their innings on
566 for 8.
India bowled out West Indies for 243 runs in the first
innings. Deciding to follow-on, R Ashwin 7 for 83 helped the visitors to bowl out
Indies for 231. It was a dominating performance by the Indian Cricket Team
winning the match by an innings and 92 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin was awarded
the man of the match for his seven-wicket haul in the 2nd innings.
Virat Kohli has shown tremendous consistency in Test matches
too. He played a total of 86 Test matches (145 innings) and scored 7240 runs. Coming
at number 4, Kohli has scored centuries in South Africa, New Zealand,
Australia. After the struggle in 2014, he returned with a bang during the 2018 series
in England.
He has hit so far 27 centuries and 22 half-centuries in his
Test career with an amazing average of 53.62. Out of the 27 centuries, 7 have
been converted into double centuries which is the highest by an Indian.
Kohli had a disappointing 2 Test match series in New Zealand
this year. He scored 3 and 14 in the first Test match at Wellington. In the
next match, his poor form continued with scores of 2 and 19 that resulted in
0-2 whitewash.
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| This Day That Year: Virat Kohli scored his maiden double century in Test cricket |
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