Virat Kohli has broken a significant record set by MS Dhoni in the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand. As soon as Indian captain Rohit Sharma announced the playing eleven after winning the toss, a remarkable achievement was registered in Virat Kohli’s name. You might be wondering how the announcement of the Indian playing eleven relates to the record set by Virat Kohli. The connection lies in the fact that if Kohli were not part of the playing eleven for the first Test against New Zealand, he would not have been able to break Dhoni’s record in Bengaluru. The record Kohli broke is related to being the player with the most international matches for India.
Kohli Breaks Dhoni’s Major Record
The record for the most international matches played for India belongs to Sachin Tendulkar, who played 664 matches during his career. MS Dhoni is second on the list with 535 matches. However, as Kohli took the field for the first Test against New Zealand, he pushed Dhoni down to third place. The ongoing Test match in Bengaluru is Kohli’s 536th international match.
Rohit Sharma Also in the Top 5
Apart from Sachin, Virat, and Dhoni, Rahul Dravid is the only other Indian player to have played 500 or more international matches for India. Dravid is fourth on the list, having played 504 international matches. Meanwhile, the current captain of Team India, Rohit Sharma, is playing his 486th international match in the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand, placing him fifth among Indian players with the most international matches.
Kohli Fails to Score in the First Innings
In the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand, while Kohli surpassed Dhoni in terms of matches played, his performance left much to be desired. After facing 9 balls, Kohli failed to open his account, marking another disappointing outing as he returned to bat at number 3 after a long time.