Virat Kohli is an essential player for India’s cricket team during their two-game Test series in South Africa. The series kicks off with a Boxing Day bout at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.
With an impressive 8676 runs in 111 matches, the 35-year-old has a solid Test cricket record. His average score? 49.29, with twenty-nine hundreds and fifties. His game doesn’t falter in South Africa, either. Out of seven matches, he made a total of 719 runs, averaging 51.35 per match.
Since making his first trip to the Proteas country in 2013, the hitter has amassed 272 runs at an average of 68 in two Tests. In the first Test in Johannesburg, Virat Kohli scored 119 and 96 to win Player of the Match. at the second Test at Durban, he scored forty-six.
During the 2017–18 trip to South Africa, the right-handed batsman amassed 286 runs at an average of 47.66 in three Test matches. In the first innings of the Centurion Test, he struck 15 fours in a valiant effort of 153 off 217 balls. But India eventually lost the Test by a total of 135 runs.
During a challenging cricket match in Johannesburg, Virat Kohli, as the captain of the Indian team, made significant inputs with scores of 54 and 41. The visitor’s team managed to secure a win in this closely fought match by 63 runs.
During India’s 2021-21 tour to South Africa, also known as the Rainbow Nation, the acclaimed Indian hitter played two out of three Tests. He wasn’t part of the second match due to health troubles. In those two matches he participated in, he accumulated 161 runs averaging 40.25.
While India had a commendable victory in the initial Test in Centurion by 113 runs, Virat Kohli’s performance with the bat wasn’t notable. In the first round, he made a promising start but ended with 35 out of 94. In the next round, he got out at 18.
Despite losing by seven wickets in Cape Town, the batsman performed admirably in the third Test of the series, hitting 79 and 29. Due to his resignation as Test captain after India’s defeat, this was also Kohli’s final game leading the national team.
Virat Kohli’s overall Test record against South Africa
During his 14 Test matches against South Africa, the former captain of India amassed 1236 runs at an average of 56.18, including three hundreds.
In October 2019, he set a career high of 254* against the Proteas in Pune. India won the Test by an innings and 137 runs thanks to Virat Kohli’s incredible effort, which included 33 fours and two sixes in 336 balls.
In Delhi in 2015, the right-handed batsman made 88 off 165 balls as India won the Test by 337 runs thanks to two centuries from Ajinkya Rahane (127 & 100*).