India vs West Indies: Run machine Virat Kohli eyes Ricky Ponting’s elite Test record

After having dominated West Indies in the T20I and ODI series, the Indian team led by Virat Kohli is all set to lock horns with the hosts in a 2-match Test series which will also see the commencement of India’s participation in the World Test Championship. The Test squad will resume action after the historic win against Australia earlier this year and are overwhelming favourites to kickstart their campaign in the Test championship in an emphatic manner. The side got good practice in the tour game against West Indies ‘A’ and look to be in great shape for the first Test match.

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Captain Virat Kohli, on different occasions in the past, has stressed on the importance of Test cricket and the side has been fairly successful under his watch. For the captain, there is an added incentive to walk out and stamp his authority over the match. He needs just one more century to equal Ricky Ponting’s tally of 19 Test tons as a skipper. If he manages to get to a century in North Sound, both Ponting and Kohli will be tied at the second spot. Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith leads the pack with 25 centuries in 109 test matches including 17 centuries in 56 overseas tests.

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“We all were looking forward to it. We felt like there were a few series in between where after big tours we felt like maybe a one-off Test or a couple of Tests were not apt for the moment. But this gives a lot of context to all kinds of cricket we’re going to play,” Kohli said about the World Test Championship.

“It will be challenging, but all the more exciting and all the teams I am sure are going to enjoy a lot through this whole journey of the Test Championship,” he further added.

First Published: Aug 20, 2019 13:09 IST