Virat Kohli equals Kapil Dev's record as Indian captain after historic Oval triumph

Indian skipper Virat Kohli yet again achieved a milestone as the captain of the Indian team by earning their second win of the series. He joined legendary Indian captain Kapil Dev in the elite club of Indian captains to win two Test matches in a series in England.

Virat Kohli added this feather to his cap, following India’s triumph in the fourth-Test match at the Oval by 157 runs. India won the match on day 5 and took a 2-1 lead in the five-match Test series. 

Achievements of Kapil Dev and Virat Kohli as Captain of Team India

After taking over the Test captaincy from MS Dhoni in 2014, Kohli has led India to 38 victories in 65 matches along with 16 losses and 11 draw matches. He has a winning percentage of 58.46 as the Indian captain. Whereas, Kapil Dev captained India from 1983 to 1987 in 34 matches, managing to win four matches and losing seven matches. Kapil Dev also led India in 22 matches that ended in a draw and one match that was tied. The Indian team, captained by Kapil Dev, previously achieved the unique milestone of winning two matches against England, in the 2-0 series win in England in 1986.

England vs India

Coming into the fourth-Test match India lacked the momentum for the win, having suffered a loss by an innings and 76 runs during the third Test at Leeds. On the fifth day of the match at Oval, England resumed their second innings on 77/0 with openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed looking strong on the pitch. However, England’s joy was short-lived as India managed to curb the run flow in the first session of the day’s play and managed to dismiss two batsmen before the lunch interval. Indian bowlers took on the fight as Burns got dismissed by Shardul Thakur after scoring his individual half-century. The other opener, Haseeb Hameed was involved in a run-out that saw the dismissal of Dawid Malan on an individual score of just five runs before the lunch break.

Hameed was the next in line to get dismissed as Ravindra Jadeja bowled him out after he scored 63 runs off 193 balls. Following the fall of the top three batsmen, England didn’t recover in their innings as only skipper Joe Root managed to cross the 20 runs-mark. Indian pacer Umesh Yadav was the peak of the bowlers with three scalps. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shardul Thakur dismissed two batsmen each. With the series lead in India’s pocket, they will now head into the Old Trafford Test, looking to seal the series win and achieve further milestones. Among the many records, Virat Kohli now also holds the record of most Test wins by an Asian captain in and against England after earning his third win as a captain in England.

(Image: PTI)