Stats: Most fifty-plus scores in international cricket as an Indian captain

Team India is having a troubled time in South Africa at the moment. After having lost the first two Tests of the three-match series, they have already conceded the series. Currently, they have nothing but pride to play for in the final Test at Johannesburg. Their dismal run in the series continued in the final Test as well despite fifties from skipper Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara.

India bundled out for a paltry 187 in their first innings after Kohli and Pujara had seen the tough phase through early on day one. A collapse followed and the batsmen headed back to the pavilion in a cavalcade. While on the team’s front, India struggled largely, Virat Kohli managed to enter the record books on the individual front. Kohli surpassed Rahul Dravid’s tally of fifty-plus scores in international cricket as a captain.

Kohli achieved this feat after he scored 54 in the first innings of the Johannesburg Test. He now has 42 fifties to his name in international cricket as the captain of the Indian team. Interestingly, he still has quite some distance to travel to be at the top of this list. While Rahul Dravid had 41 fifties to his name, Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly have 59 fifties each as India’s captain.  They share the second spot on the list. The top spot is bagged by MS Dhoni, who has a staggering 82 fifties to his credit as the leader of the Indian team.

More records galore

Well, surpassing Dravid’s tally was not the only record registered for Virat Kohli in the match. He also became the first Asian skipper to score two or more 50-plus scores in a Test series in South Africa. Also, he became the second Asian captain to score more than 200 runs in a Test series in South Africa. The first Asian captain to do so was Sachin Tendulkar way back in the year 1996.

In addition to these accolades, Kohli also managed to fetch a joint distinction. In the first innings of the ongoing Test, he stitched a crucial 84 run partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara. With this partnership, Kohli and Pujara have equalled the tally of Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly of having most 50-plus partnerships in South Africa. They have 3 fifty-plus stands to their credits.

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