WTC final: Virat Kohli goes past MS Dhoni for most matches as India’s Test captain 

Virat Kohli has now captained India in the highest number of Test matches. The World Test Championship (WTC) final is Virat Kohli’s 61st Test as Indian captain. The 32-year-old goes past his predecessor MS Dhoni, who led India in 60 Tests.

The first day of the final was a washout due to rains and a wet outfield. The toss could only take place on the second day. Leading his side in the record 61st Test, Virat Kohli has lost the toss against New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and has been asked to bat.

A win at Southampton will not only see India being crowned the Test Champions, but also return to the No.1 spot in the ICC Test Rankings and win the Test Mace.

Virat Kohli is already India’s most successful Test skipper with 36 wins. In 2019, he surpassed MS Dhoni’s mark of 27 wins. He is tied with West Indies’ Clive Lloyd in terms of Test wins, and is only behind South Africa’s Graeme Smith (53 wins) and former Australian skippers – Ricky Ponting (48 wins) and Steve Waugh (41 wins).

Most Tests as Indian captain

Virat Kohli also has the best win-loss ratio.

Most wins as Test captain

One more win and Virat Kohli will go past Clive Lloyd.

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India's Virat Kohli era in Test cricket began in December 2014

Virat Kohli’s first Test as India’s Test captain came in Adelaide in December 2014. He scored two centuries in that match and almost guided India to a famous win before Nathan Lyon spun the Australians to a 48-run victory.

MS Dhoni returned as captain for the next two Tests before announcing his retirement after the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Thus, Virat Kohli’s full-time tenure began in Sydney in January 2015.

Between 2015 and 2017, Virat Kohli led India to nine consecutive Test series victories. Under his leadership, India enjoyed a glorious run as the No.1-ranked Test side for a cumulative period of almost four years.

As captain, Virat Kohli has also dominated with the bat. With 5,392 runs, the Indian captain has the fourth-most runs as Test skipper behind Graeme Smith (8,659), Allan Border (6,623) and Ricky Ponting (6,542).

Taking a cut-off of over 4,000 Test runs as captain, Virat Kohli leads the average charts with 58.6. Next on the list is Brian Lara at 57.83.

"We've been on a quest for excellence for a while now, and we will continue to be on that path regardless of this game" 💪Hear what @imVkohli has to say as the start of the #WTC21 Final draws closer 🇮🇳#INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/XJs9WEWUqT

— ICC (@ICC) June 18, 2021