Kohli restores India hope with landmark run-score

Virat Kohli became just the fourth Indian batter to reach 9,000 Test runs as he restored some hope on day three against New Zealand.

The tourists carried over their momentum from Thursday, though stuttered at the start as Daryl Mitchell’s (18) involvement was cut short early on, having only added four runs to their 180-3 overnight score.

However, Rachin Ravindra started in fine form at the crease as he brought up 134 off 157 balls to set them on their way.

Ravindra Jadeja (3-72) helped keep the scores down after that, though Tim Southee’s 65 helped push New Zealand towards their 402 total before Jadeja caught him.

Set a target of 356 to chase at the start of their second innings, India made a strong start, surpassing their first innings total of 46 by the end of the 12th over.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (35) and Rohit Sharma (52) got them going early on before Kohli brought up his landmark, finishing with 70 as he was caught on the final ball of the day.

India reached stumps at 231-3, trailing by 125 runs, and Sarfaraz Khan (70 not out) will be looking to help them close in on what could be an unlikely victory.

Data Debrief: Kohli’s landmark day

Kohli did not start the Test in the best way, being dismissed for a duck in his first innings, but he made up for that on Friday.

His knock of 70 was enough to take him past the 9,000 run mark (now 9,017), with only Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar previously reaching that total.

He has now scored 50+ in three of his four Test innings against New Zealand at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru (103 and 51* – September 2012, 70 in October 2024). (Sportsmax)