IND vs SA: 5 personal records Virat Kohli & Co. could achieve in Test Series

Several Indian cricketers, including Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin, will be in the spotlight during the forthcoming Test series against South Africa as they strive to achieve personal goals. Here's a list of individual records that could be broken by Indian players during the three-match Test series between India and South Africa.  

Kohli 1 century away from breaking Ponting's record

Indian skipper Virat Kohli is just one century away from scoring his 71st ton in international cricket. If Kohli scores at least one century in the upcoming series against South Africa, he will surpass former Australian captain Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest century getter in international cricket. Kohli has a staggering 70 centuries in international cricket (43 in ODIs and 27 in Tests). 

Ashwin on the verge of becoming India's 2nd highest wicket-taker in Tests

Ravichandran Ashwin is on the cusp of becoming India's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests. Ashwin needs eight or more wickets in the upcoming series to surpass the legendary Kapil Dev as India's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests. Ashwin has 427 wickets in Tests at an average of 24.12. Kapil, on the other hand, has 434 wickets in 131 Tests. 

Kohli 66 runs away from breaking Dravid's record

Virat Kohli can become India's second-highest run-scorer in South Africa in Tests if he scores 66 or more runs in the upcoming series. Kohli has scored 558 runs against Proteas at their home. Sachin Tendulkar (1161), Rahul Dravid (624), and VVS Laxman (566) are the only Indian batters who have scored more runs in Tests in South Africa. 

Shami five wickets away from entering 200 wickets in Tests

Mohammed Shami is on his way to becoming the latest bowler to reach the milestone of 200 Test wickets. Shami, who has 195 Test wickets in 54 games, only needs five more to join the elite club in the longest format. If Shami collects five or more wickets in the forthcoming series, he will become the 11th Indian bowler to reach 200 Test wickets. Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Bishan Bedi, and Ravindra Jadeja are among the other Indian bowlers on the list, along with Anil Kumble, who is also the top wicket-taker for India in Tests.

Kohli 3 matches away from playing 100th Test

Virat Kohli is just three matches away from playing his 100th Test match. So far in his career, Kohli has represented India in 97 Tests and has scored a whopping 7,765 runs at an average of 51.08. The upcoming three-match Test series against South Africa will see Kohli enter the elite club of international cricketers with 100 or more Tests for their country. 

India's tour of South Africa

India will play South Africa in a three-match Test series, followed by the same number of one-day internationals. The Test series will begin on December 26 at Centurion's SuperSport Park. The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg and the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town will host the next two games, respectively. The Kohli-led team arrived in South Africa last week and immediately began practising following a day of quarantine. India has never won a Test series in South Africa, and the current squad, captained by Kohli, will try to change that when they face the Proteas. 

Tests: 

• 1st Test: 26-30 December, Centurion
• 2nd test: 3-7 January, Johannesburg
• 3rd Test: 11-15 January, Cape Town

ODIs:

• 1st ODI: 19 January, Paarl
• 2nd ODI: 21 January, Paarl
• 3rd ODI: 23 January, Cape Town

Image: BCCI