Virat Kohli creates HISTORY by surpassing MS Dhoni’s milestone during first Test against New Zealand

New Delhi: Virat Kohli created history by breaking MS Dhoni's record to become India’s second-most capped international cricketer. This milestone was achieved by Kohli on Day 2 of the first Test match between India and New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Virat Kohli marked his 536th international appearance, surpassing MS Dhoni’s record of 535 caps. With this achievement, Kohli now stands second only to Sachin Tendulkar, who holds the record with 664 appearances. Among active Indian players, Rohit Sharma follows with 486 caps, while Ravindra Jadeja comes next with 346 caps.

Virat Kohli has had a remarkable cricketing journey, amassing 27,041 runs and recording 80 centuries across all formats. In terms of overall runs and centuries, he stands just behind the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.

However, Kohli’s struggles at the No. 3 spot in Tests persisted during the Bengaluru match, as he was dismissed for a duck. His recent form in this position has been concerning, with an average of just 16.16 across seven innings, and a highest score of 41.

India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first against New Zealand in the rain-affected opening Test on Thursday.

India made two changes for the Test: Sarfaraz Khan replaced the injured Shubman Gill, who was not “100 percent,” and Kuldeep Yadav came in for seamer Akash Deep as a third spinner.

“Shubman Gill was unavailable for selection of the first Test due to a neck stiffness,” the Indian team management informed after the toss.

The first day’s play was washed out due to persistent rain. India and New Zealand will compete in two more Tests: in Pune from October 24-28 and in Mumbai from November 1-5.

India vs New Zealand Playing XI:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

New Zealand: Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William O’Rourke.