India vs South Africa: 3 milestones Virat Kohli can achieve in the first Test against South Africa
All eyes will be on Virat Kohli as he walks out to bat against South Africa at the Centurion on Sunday (December 26). For starters, he will look to silence critics with the sort of masterful performance that has been missing from his game for the last couple of years.
Barring an odd fifty here and some scintillating starts, Kohli has been in something of a performance rut and will look to grab that elusive 71st Test ton. The Indian skipper has a score of 153 to boast at Centurion and will look to repeat his performance in that game against the hosts.
Ahead of the first Test, we take a look at three milestones Virat Kohli can reach when India take on South Africa.
#1 Kohli needs a ton to score the 71st century of his career
This is perhaps the most obvious milestone the cricketing world will be aware of. Kohli has been on a century drought for a long time now and will be keen to set that record straight when he bats at Centurion. He currently has 27 Test tons and and a 28th hundred would also see him notch up 71 hundreds in his playing career.
#2 Kohli needs two more catches to complete 100 Test grabs
Virat Kohli needs to latch on to two more catches to complete a century of catches in Tests. Considering the live wire he has been in the field, the 33-year old will look to achieve this milestone sooner rather than later. Closing in on the landmark is also Ajinkya Rahane, who needs three catches to get a hundred catches in Test cricket.
#3 Kohli needs 667 runs to become the highest scorer in Tests against SA
Sachin Tendulkar (1741 runs) leads the pack with the most runs against South Africa in Tests. Virat Kohli will need 667 more runs (he has 1075) to vault Tendulkar and reach the milestone. This would mean Kohli has six innings to score mammoth runs in order to achieve that target.