IND v AUS 2020: Virat Kohli can break these Lara, Tendulkar and Ponting records during Adelaide Test
Indian skipper Virat Kohli will only be available for the first Test between India and Australia, before flying back home for the birth of his child.
However, the batsman will be expected to play a crucial role in the sole Test that he plays, particularly with the Adelaide Test being India’s first pink-ball encounter away from home.
Virat Kohli will look to have a solid outing and would prefer to fly back home with a win under his belt. The Adelaide Test also offers Virat Kohli the opportunity to break a series of records held by batting greats Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting.
Virat Kohli can break these two Ricky Ponting records
Since becoming the captain in 2015, Virat Kohli has notched up 41 centuries in 187 matches across all competitions. This ties the 32-year-old with Australian great Ricky Ponting, who has the most international centuries as captain - 41 in 324 games.
Should Virat Kohli manage to score a hundred in the pink-ball Test, he will become the captain with the most international centuries in the history of cricket.
If Kohli has an outstanding Test and scores centuries in both innings, he will also reach 72 international hundreds. This will put him second in the all-time list ahead of Ricky Ponting, who has 71 centuries to his name.
The Brian Lara record that Virat Kohli could break
While India have a miserable Test record at Adelaide - winning just two out of 12 Test matches played at the venue - Virat Kohli has had a great time at the stadium. The skipper has scored 431 runs at an average of 71.83 and can surpass West Indies great Brian Lara if he performs well once more.
Lara currently holds the record for the most runs scored at the Adelaide Oval by a visiting player, with the stylish left-hander smashing 610 runs.
If Virat Kohli manages to score 179 or more runs during the two innings, he will end the pink-ball Test as the most successful visiting batsman to play at the venue.
Virat Kohli can surpass a special Sachin Tendulkar record as well
As if breaking records held by Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara wasn’t enough, the mercurial batsman will also have a shot at surpassing a special record held by his idol Sachin Tendulkar.
The Master Blaster notched up an impressive six Test centuries against Australia while playing against them Down Under, scoring 1809 runs at an average of 53.2 in 20 matches.
Although Kohli is unlikely to be able to match or surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s tally when it comes to runs scored, the Indian skipper already has six tons in the 12 Tests he has played in Australia.
A century more and Virat Kohli will be ahead of Sachin Tendulkar when it comes to scoring centuries in Australia against Australia.