Virat Kohli is 53 runs away from joining elite list that includes Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar

All eyes will be on star batsman Virat Kohli as Team India prepares to face New Zealand in the first Test of their three-match series at the famed M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. With just 53 more runs needed to enter the 9000-run club in Test cricket, the Delhi native is poised to achieve yet another milestone.

Having amassed 8,947 runs at an average of 48.89 from 115 games, including 30 half-centuries and 29 hundreds, he has continuously defied all expectations to establish himself as one of India’s best hitters. Joining the likes of cricket greats Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar, Kohli will become the fourth Indian player and the 18th overall to achieve this historic milestone.

With 15,921 runs in 200 Test matches, Tendulkar is in first place. Gavaskar scored 10,122 runs in 125 Test matches, while Dravid came in second with 13,265 runs in 163 matches. The 35-year-old is also close to being just the third Indian batsman to reach 1000 runs in Test matches against New Zealand, following Dravid and Tendulkar.

In 11 Test matches against New Zealand, Virat Kohli has amassed 866 runs.

As of right now, Virat Kohli has destroyed the Black Caps in 11 games, scoring 866 runs. In addition to hitting 1000 runs, he would exceed the totals of former openers Virender Sehwag (883 runs) and Cheteshwar Pujara (867 runs) against the BlackCaps if he scores 134 runs in this series.

With just one 50+ score in 16 games across all formats, 2024 has been a difficult year for Team India’s modern-day superstar. He was dismissed early in both Chennai Test innings in the most recent Test series against Bangladesh.

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However, he quickly recorded scores of 47 and 29* in Kanpur. He has a fantastic chance to return to his exceptional form during this home series against New Zealand.