India is set to host New Zealand for a three-match Test series, starting on October 16. The Men in Blue will be looking to continue their dominance in home Tests against the Kiwis after a convincing 2-0 win over Bangladesh recently. India will have their eyes set to secure a place in the World Test Championship final at Lords next year and will be hoping for their big players to perform in the upcoming Test series. One of the Indian players to look out for in India's upcoming Test series against New Zealand will be Virat Kohli.
Star Indian batter Virat Kohli hasn’t been consistent with his form in 2024. However, the right-hander looked in great touch in the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur with his quickfire knock of 47(35) runs. The fans are desperately waiting for Kohli to score a century for India. He last scored a Test century against West Indies in July 2023, while his last international hundred came during the 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final on November 15, 2023. It has been almost a year since Virat Kohli scored an international hundred.
Why Virat Kohli can score a hundred in first Test against New Zealand?
Virat Kohli is a crucial player for India in the Test format. With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and World Test Championship final coming in the upcoming months, India will be hoping for Kohli to get his form back in the longest format. In the following article, we will have look at the three major reasons why Virat Kohli can score a hundred in first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru.
1. Get the form back ahead of BGT in Australia
Virat Kohli has been the strength of the Indian batting order over the years, and will play a crucial role in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, starting next month. With an important five-match Test series down under, Kohli has a great chance to get his form back in the three-match series against New Zealand and will be looking to score a hundred in the first Test in Bengaluru.
2. Great record against New Zealand
New Zealand are one of the Test sides against which Virat Kohli loves to score big runs. His first Test century also came against New Zealand that too at the same ground, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru where India is scheduled to play the first Test against the Kiwis. The right-hander has amassed 886 runs from 11 matches against New Zealand in the longest format at an average of 45.57 with three centuries and three fifties.
3. Nearing 9000 runs in Test
Virat Kohli is just 53 runs short of achieving the milestone of 9000 runs in Test cricket. The star batter will be looking to achieve in the first Test against New Zealand and get the momentum to score his 30th Test century.
