Kohli's third double ton puts England on the mat
By Sudipto Ganguly
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India captain Virat Kohli continued to torment England, hitting his third double century of the year in the fourth and penultimate test at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday to virtually end the tourists' hopes of a comeback in the five-match series.
Trailing 2-0 in the series, England must win in Mumbai to keep the series alive but the tourists now need something extraordinary to save the match following Kohli's batting masterclass.
India were 579 for seven in their first innings at lunch on the fourth day, a lead of 179 runs over England.
The 28-year-old Kohli was unbeaten on a career-best 212 while Jayant Yadav, 92 not out, was closing in on his maiden hundred.
Kohli, who was on 147 overnight, and Yadav continued to torment the England bowlers who went wicketless in the first session after India resumed on 451 for seven.
The eight-wicket stand has already yielded 215 runs and is the best for the hosts in the format. Kohli and Yadav scored almost at will, accumulating 128 runs in 29 overs before lunch.
Kohli has now scored a double hundred in all three series India has played in 2016 - in West Indies, against New Zealand and now England.
Kohli, who has already scored 617 runs in the series at an average of over 154, drove Jake Ball for a straight four on the fifth delivery of the day to get past 150, signalling another harrowing session for the England bowlers.
Kohli, who has hit 24 fours so far in his knock, got past his 200 with a single to mid-wicket off leg-spinner Adil Rashid but his celebration was quite muted compared to when he completed his hundred on Saturday.
He raised both his hands while completing the run, took off his helmet before acknowledging the applause from the sizeable Sunday crowd at the ground, overlooking the Arabian Sea.
The England bowlers went through their motions and hardly managed to trouble the batsmen with Yadav also picking up easy boundaries.
Yadav, whose previous highest score was 55, has hit 13 boundaries in his knock so far and only looked in discomfort against a couple of short deliveries from the England fast bowlers.
(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)