Virat Kohli achieved two massive milestones on Day 4 of the WTC final 2023 (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Virat Kohli became only the second Indian batter after Sachin Tendulkar to smash more than 5000 runs against Australia across all formats
Virat Kohli on Saturday surpassed plenty of milestones, joining the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in an elusive list of cricketers following his unbeaten 44-run knock against Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final on June 10.
Kohli became only the second Indian batter after Tendulkar to score more than 5000 runs against Australia, across all formats. Virat came out to bat after India lost Shubman Gill and Indian skipper Rohit Sharma early, needing a record 444-run total to win the WTC final 2023.
At the Oval, Kohli managed to etch his name in the history books as he became only the second Indian batsman after Tendulkar to amass more than 5000 runs against Australia. The 34-year-old reached the massive milestone while smashing a boundary on the first ball of the 40th over of India’s second innings on Day 4.
Against Australia, the ‘Master Blaster’ has the highest runs with a tally of 6707 runs in 144 innings including 20 centuries at a massive average of 49.68.
Apart from the aforementioned feat, Virat also became only the fifth player to smash more than 2000 runs in red-ball cricket against the nation from Down Under.
Again, Tendulkar has the most runs in Tests against Australia with 3630 runs under his name, VVS Laxman, current India head coach Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara had previously breached the 2000-run mark and Kohli became the latest entrant into the club following his gritty knock on Day 4 of the WTC final 2023.
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Courtesy of the 34-year-old’s 44-run effort, India ended the day with a total of 164/3, needing 280 runs to win the match on Day 5. Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane stitched together a 71-run stand on Saturday, keeping India alive in the contest for the coveted ICC trophy.