Veteran Indian batsman Virat Kohli will return to Test cricket as India faces Bangladesh in a two-match series. The opening Test will be held at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai from September 19 to September 23, while the second Test will take place at Green Park in Kanpur from September 27 to October 1.
For Kohli, this series against Bangladesh will be his return to Test cricket after a significant break. His last appearance in red-ball cricket was during the two-Test series in South Africa from December 2023 to January 2024, where he scored 38 and 76 in the first Test in Centurion and 46 and 12 in the second Test in Cape Town. He missed the five home Tests against England due to the birth of his son.
Regarding his performance against Bangladesh in Test cricket, Kohli has a strong record. In six matches (nine innings), he has amassed 437 runs at an average of 54.62, including two centuries. Notably, he scored a double century against Bangladesh in Hyderabad in February 2017, with 204 runs off 246 balls in the first innings and 38 off 40 balls in the second innings.
Just want to see Virat Kohli raising his bat in test cricket again and again pic.twitter.com/sdiVLmLaQD
— Pari (@BluntIndianGal) September 16, 2024
Kohli’s second century against Bangladesh in Test matches was scored in the Day-Night Test in Kolkata in November 2019. He made 136 runs off 194 balls, hitting 18 fours, and led India to victory by an innings and 46 runs. This innings was particularly notable as it marked the last century Kohli scored before a gap of over 1,000 days in international cricket.
Virat Kohli’s performance in the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle
In the 2023-2025 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, Virat Kohli is currently ranked 36th among the top run-scorers. His lower ranking is partly due to his absence from the five-match Test series at home against England.
In the ongoing WTC cycle, Kohli has played four matches (six innings) and accumulated 369 runs at an average of 61.50, including one century and two half-centuries. Prior to the two-Test series in South Africa, he also participated in two Tests in the West Indies, scoring 76 off 182 balls in the first match in Roseau and 121 off 206 balls in Port of Spain.
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