Star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, batting at No 3 for the first time in the ongoing first Test match against New Zealand, was seen batting in the first innings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, which is currently situated. While Kohli is predominantly known for playing at no four positions in the test matches, he however successfully batted at No 3 during the Shubman Gill’s absence on Wednesday, October 17 THE FATA.
This is because Gill is not participating in the series first match against New Zealand due to some fitness problems.
It is after the captain Rohit Sharma has scored two runs from 16 balls off strike bowler Tim Southee that Kohli walked onto the pitch to bat at No 3. It should be known that Kohli who has so far appeared in 116 Tests scoring 8947 runs, last batted at No 3 for Indian team in 2016. Playing with number three bat for the first time after eight years, Kohli disappoints by scoring a nine-ball duck as he is bowled out by William O’Rourke. Glenn Phillips worked hard and took a catch to finish off the opportunity.
As far as Tests go, Kohli occupies the fourth position in India’s all-time run scorers list. However, he has scored only 97 runs in 7 innings playing at No. 3 position and in Test matches.
During his debut innings in Tests, which was also his first as No. 3 for the Indian side, Kohli scored 14 runs from 21 balls against England at Ahamdabad (November 15-19, 2012).
The next occasion he batted as No. 3 for the Indian team was during the match against Australia in the second innings of the Mohali Test in March 2013 where he made 34 runs from 61 balls with six boundaries.
He managed to score 1 and then 41 runs next as the No. 3 Test batter for India playing against Australia at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi (March 22-24, 2013).
In his previous Test match for India as a No. 3 against New Zealand in Bengaluru, Kohli managed scores of 3 and 4 runs contra the West Indies at Gros Islet (August 9-13, 2016).
His batting average as No. 3 bat for India in Tests is a lowly 16.16 and he has on four occasions made zero or missed reaching double digits.
However, the records show that as No. 4 bat Kohli has scored 7355 runs in 148 innings in 91 Tests.
He has also played at the Test No. 5, 6, and 7 positions and scored 1080, 404, and 11 runs respectively.
