As India will get its new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle underway from Wednesday within the first Test towards West Indies in Dominica, talismanic batter Virat Kohli may have a chance to regain his kind within the longest format of the sport.
Though Kohli ended his four-year Test century drought with a cultured 186 towards Australia in Ahmedabad through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in March, that stays his solely noteworthy rating within the 5 Tests he has performed in 2023. Other than constant kind in Test cricket, a mean of fifty or extra within the longest format can be one thing that has eluded Kohli of late.
While the all-format star averages a staggering 57.32 and 52.73 in ODIs and T20Is, respectively, his Test common has dipped to 48.72. That final time he averaged in extra of 50 was after the Mohali Test towards Sri Lanka in March 2022, which was additionally his landmark a centesimal sport within the format. Scores of 23 and 13 within the pink-ball Test in Bengaluru meant his common dipped under 50 for the primary time since 2017.
However, the two-matches Test collection in West Indies presents Kohli with a golden alternative to reclaim the distinction of averaging 50 or extra throughout codecs.
WHAT KOHLI NEEDS TO DO TO CLIMB MT. 50 IN WEST INDIES
The former India captain must rating a minimal of 221 runs within the collection to haul his profession common again to 50 within the longest format. However, this tally will solely be ample if he stays undismissed all through the collection – which is unlikely contemplating his place within the line-up.
If he’s dismissed solely as soon as, a collection haul of 271 runs will suffice. In case he’s dismissed on two events within the collection, he’ll want 321 runs, 371 if out 3 times and a whopping 421 if he’s dismissed in all of the 4 innings.
The most runs scored by an Indian in a two-match Test collection is 432 by Rahul Dravid towards Zimbabwe in 2000, adopted by Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 403 runs towards Australia in 2010.
HOW THE NUMBERS STACK UP FOR KOHLI IN WEST INDIES
Despite India’s dominance within the Caribbean in Tests (undefeated since 2002), West Indies hasn’t been a cheerful searching floor for Kohli. He averages 35.61 in 9 Tests and has a decrease common solely in Bangladesh and England.
Kohli Test stats in West Indies
| Matches | Runs | Average | HS | 100s | 50s |
| 9 | 463 | 35.61 | 200 | 1 | 2 |
The final time India toured West Indies for 2 Tests was in 2019, Kohli managed solely 136 runs in 4 innings at 34.00 and hit two fifties. However, within the four-match collection in 2016, Kohli was the top-scorer with 251 runs in 4 innings at 62.75 and likewise hit his solely Test hundred in the nation.
West Indies can be the place Kohli made his Test debut in 2011 and he had a tough initiation to the longest format, scoring simply 76 runs in 5 innings at a mean of 15.20 and a prime rating of 30.
As the 34-year-old returns to the Caribbean, 12 years after his debut and 4 years since his final go to, he’ll have a document to fix, a ‘50’ to get and a degree to show as the long run tacitly factors to an inevitable transition as the brand new WTC cycle beckons.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com