Individual Records

Virat Kohli – Test Runs by Batting Position

Virat Kohli’s run-making in limited-overs cricket is second to none. And his exploits in Test cricket are no less either.

For more than a decade since his debut, Kohli has been the lynchpin of India’s batting lineup in red-ball cricket. He started as a No. 5 batter and even batted at No. 6 and 7, but he was quick enough to cement a permanent slot at No. 4 left by Sachin Tendulkar.

With over 7000-plus runs coming at No. 4, Kohli has established himself as one of the best top-order batters in current times.

On that note, let’s glance at Virat Kohli’s Test stats by batting position.

Virat Kohli Test Batting Stats by Position

Batting Position Inns Runs Avg HS 100s/50s Not Outs Ducks
No. 3 8 167 23.85 70 0/1 1 1
No. 4 160 7564 50.09 254* 26/21 9 12
No. 5 32 1084 37.37 107 3/6 3 1
No. 6 9 404 44.88 116 1/3 0 1
No. 7 1 11 11.00 11 0/0 0 0
Overall 210 9230 46.85 254* 30/31 13 15

Key Insights

As you can see, Kohli has batted the most as a No. 4 batter, just like his idol Sachin Tendulkar. The Delhi batter has filled the void left by Tendulkar pretty well.

Kohli is among the seven batters who have scored 7,000-plus Test runs while batting at No. 4. Tendulkar (13,492), Mahela Jayawardene (9,509), Jacques Kallis (9,033), Brian Lara (7,535), Joe Root (7,500+), and Ross Taylor (7,087) are the other six batters.

He is also one of the six batters with 20 or more Test centuries at No. 4. Except for Ross Taylor, all the above batters have 20-plus hundreds.