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WTC final: Will Virat Kohli surpass Don Bradman's sensational test record?

Kohli is, at present, just one century away from drawing level with Bradman’s tally of 29 tons in test cricket

Team India will be aiming to win their maiden World Test Championship (WTC) title when they take the field against Australia at Kennington Oval in London. All eyes will be on Virat Kohli, who is currently on the verge of equalling legendary batter Don Bradman’s sensational record in the longest format of the game.

Kohli is right now just one century away from drawing level with Bradman’s tally of 29 tons in Test cricket. Among the current crop of active players, Kohli finds himself at the third spot on the list of most Test centuries scored by a batter. With 28 Test centuries to his name, he is right behind England’s Joe Root who has 29 tons in this format.

Australia batter Steven Smith tops the list with 30 centuries under his belt. In red-ball cricket, Kohli breached the three-digit mark last time during the fourth match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, in March.

Virat Kohli also has a chance to break current Team India head coach Rahul Dravid’s Test record against the Aussies. After playing 24 matches against Australia, Kohli has scored 1,979 runs at an average of 48.26. The talismanic India batter requires 188 runs more to go past Dravid’s tally of 2,166 runs against Australia.

With 108 Test matches to his name, Virat Kohli has amassed 8,416 runs at an average of 48.93 in this format. He has till now hit 28 centuries and as many half-centuries in Test cricket.

Meanwhile, Australia will look to claim their first World Test Championship title this time. The Pat Cummins-led side qualified for the showpiece event after finishing their league-stage campaign at the top spot. Australia team management, ahead of the WTC final, will certainly be wary of their unimpressive record at The Oval. After playing 38 Test matches at this venue, the Aussies have only managed to claim seven wins.

Their success rate at this ground stands at 18.42 per cent at this point in time. Moreover, Australia’s preparations suffered a big jolt after their pacer Josh Hazlewood was ruled out due to a side injury. Michael Nasser was included in Australia’s 15-member WTC final squad.

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