India's batting maestro Virat Kohli stepped on another mighty milestone in his illustrous cricketing career in the second Test against West Indies in Port of Spain on Thursday (July 20). Kohli has became just the fourth Indian to have played 500 International matches. The 34-year-old has joined the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni in the elite list of Indian cricketers with 500 international matches. Overall Kohli has become only the 10th player to play 500 matches in his international career.
Notably, batting great Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of featuring in most international matches i.e 664.
Most International matches played:
Sachin Tendulkar - 664
Mahela Jayawardene - 652
Kumar Sangakkara - 594
Sanath Jayasuriya - 586
Ricky Ponting - 560
MS Dhoni - 538
Shahid Afridi - 524
Jacques Kallis - 519
Rahul Dravid - 509
Virat Kohli - 500
Right ahead of his special match on Thursday, Kohli expressed his heart out. Board of control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a video ahead of Kohli's 500th International appearance in which the star batter was seen saying,"I'm really grateful. I feel very blessed that I have had such a long journey playing for India and such a long Test career. Because I really had to work hard for it and it makes you feel happy about the hard work that you have put in to see the longevity in the game and the results over the years as well. So, I'm very grateful," said Kohli.
Talking about the match, West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl first. Meanwhile, India included star bowler Mukesh Kumar in playing XI who made his Test debut.
After losing the toss India skipper Rohit Sharma said,"We were looking to bat first. Looks nice and sunny as well. It's going to get slower and slower. Shardul has pulled up a niggle. He's not fit. Mukesh Kumar is going to make his debut. He has worked hard in the domestic cricket. There's lot of memories, the rivalry between the two teams has always been exciting to watch. It's always been a tough tour, you have to work hard. Even in the last game, we had to work hard, especially the batters. Hopefully we get the result we are expected of."
Meanwhile West Indies' captain Kraigg Brathwaite said,"We are gonna have a bowl first. Shannon comes back into the team. There's some moisture on the pitch. McKenzie makes his debut today, he's ready and raring to go. Bowling-wise we were okay. The first game is gone, we got to be mentally ready for the challenge. We had a few chats, we got to believe in ourselves. We came a long way, the matches between India and West Indies. Recently we haven't won, looking to change it."
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj.
West Indies (Playing XI): Kraigg Brathwaite(c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Jermaine Blackwood, Alick Athanaze, Joshua Da Silva(w), Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican, Shannon Gabriel.
If Kohli manages to score 75 runs in the second Test against West Indies, he will break batting legend Ricky Ponting's record of amassing most runs after 500 international matches. While Ponting scored 25035 runs after 500 international matches, Kohli has so far amassed 25461 runs in 499 international outings. As the 2nd Test of the West Indies is set to happen on July 20, Virat Kohli records the most runs after 499 international matches in his career.
Batters to score most runs after 500 International matches:
Ricky Ponting - Matches- 500, Runs-25035, Average-47.95, Century- 68
Sachin Tendulkar - Matches-500, Runs-24874, Average-48.48, Century- 75
Jacques Kallis - Matches-500, Runs-24799, Average-50.28, Century- 60
Rahul Dravid - Matches-500, Runs-23607, Average-45.57, Century- 47
Kumar Sangakkara - Matches-500, Runs-22592, Average-44.73, Century- 47
Mahela Jayawardene - Matches-500, Runs-20223, Average-40.21, Century- 44
Sanath Jayasuriya - Matches-500, Runs-18889, Average-35.57, Century- 39
MS Dhoni - Matches-500, Runs-16330, Average- 45.11, Century-16
Shahid Afridi - Matches-500, Runs-10889, Average-24.32, Century-11
Virat Kohli - Matches-499*, Runs-25461*, Average-53.48, Century- 75
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Rahul Dravid lauds Virat Kohli, talks about 'a lot of sacrifices made' as ex-India captain gears up for 500th international match
