Virat Kohli’s 100th Test: From Tendulkar to Ishant, Indian players with 100 Test appearances and their records

The first Test of the upcoming series between India and Sri Lanka at Mohali will be a special one. Virat Kohli is set to play his 100th Test at the venue and it will be indeed a special occasion for the cricketing fraternity. Kohli would have played his 100th Test in South Africa in the Cape Town but he missed the second Test in Johannesburg due to a back spasm which meant the Cape Town Test was his 99th. After the Cape Town Test, Kohli stepped down as the captain of the Indian Test team after India lost the series 2-1. Kohli has had a prolific Test career so far. In the 99 matches, he’s scored 7,962 runs at an average of 50.39. He is one of only four Indian batters who average more than 50 in Test cricket for players to have played 99 Tests or more. He has hit 27 hundreds, including seven double hundreds and 28 fifties. His form has been up and down of late and he would be looking to hit the refresh button against Sri Lanka. The century drought has now stretched to 27 innings in Tests and his fans would be hoping that the 28th arrives on his 100th. As he gets set to appear in his 100th Test, we take a look at the Indian players who have played in 100 Tests or more as well as their records. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  File image of Sachin Tendulkar. Image credit: BCCI[/caption] Sachin Tendulkar — 200 Tests The legend himself Sachin Tendulkar is way ahead with 200 Tests. In a career that spanned 24 years, Tendulkar scored 15,921 runs, the most by any batter in international cricket. He also has the most number of Test tons — 51 and possesses the highest average of the players who have played 100 Tests or more — 53.78. He also scalped 46 wickets. Rahul Dravid — 164 Tests Next up in the list of most Test appearances among Indians is Rahul Dravid. He’s the fourth-highest run-getter in the history of Test cricket with 13,288 runs from 164 matches and possesses the second best average by an Indian batter with 100 or more Test appearances — 52.31. Dravid has scored the second-most centuries by an Indian batter with 36 tons and also taken the most number of catches by an Indian outfielder — 209. He also has 63 fifties to his name. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  File image of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid. AFP[/caption] VVS Laxman — 134 Tests Laxman started his Test career in 1996 and in his 16-year career, he scored 8,781 runs at an average of 45.97. He’s scored 17 centuries and 56 fifties. He has also taken the second most number of catches by an Indian outfielder with 135 catches. He also has two Test wickets to his name. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  File image of Anil Kumble. Reuters[/caption] Anil Kumble — 132 Tests Kumble’s Test career took flight in 1990 and he would end up among the all-time greats of the game, scalping 619 wickets, most by any Indian bowler. He is the only Indian bowler to take more than 500 wickets and fourth-highest wicket-taker in history of Test cricket. He is also one of only three bowlers to take 10 wickets in an innings. He averaged 29.65 and possessed a strike rate of 65.9. He also had most five-fors (fourth-most overall) by an Indian bowler with 35 five-wicket hauls, including eight ten-fers. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  File image of Kapil Dev. Twitter/@ICC[/caption] Kapil Dev — 131 Tests The legendary Kapil Dev scored 5,248 runs at an average of 31.05 and scalped 434 wickets at an average of 29.64 and a strike rate of 63.9. His record of 434 wickets stood for a long time as the highest by an Indian before Kumble finally broke it. He had eight hundreds to his name and 23 five-fors. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“620”]  File image of Sunil Gavaskar. Getty[/caption] Sunil Gavaskar — 125 Tests Sunil Gavaskar was the first Indian to reach the 10,000-run milestone in Tests and that record stood for long before Sachin Tendulkar finally broke it. In his 125-Test career, Gavaskar scored 10,122 runs at an average of 51.12 with a highest score of 236 not out. He also has a solitary wicket to his name in Tests. He took 108 catches as well. Dilip Vengsarkar — 116 Tests Vengsarkar’s Test career started in 1976 and in his 16-year career the Mumbai batter scored 6,868 runs at an average of 42.13. He scored 17 hundreds and 35 fifties in his 116-Test career. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  File image of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.​BCCI[/caption] Sourav Ganguly — 113 Tests Ganguly started his Test career in style with a century on debut at the hallowed Lord’s in 1996. And there was no looking back thereafter as he kept piling on runs. In his 12-year Test career, Ganguly scored 7,212 runs at an average of 42.17. During his 113-Test career he hit 16 hundreds and 35 fifties. Ganguly was a handy medium pacer as well and he picked up 32 wickets in his Test career which included a career best of 3/28. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  File image of Ishant Sharma. Sportzpics[/caption] Ishant Sharma — 105 Tests Ishant Sharma is India’s joint fifth-highest wicket-taker in Tests, level with Zaheer Khan on 311. He’s averaged 32.40 and struck every 61.6 balls. He has 11 five-fors to his name including one ten wicket haul. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  File image of Harbhajan Singh. Image: Twitter @ICC[/caption] Harbhajan Singh — 103 Tests The ‘Turbanator’, as he was fondly known, started his Test career in 1998 and soon became a vital cog in India’s Test arsenal. His performance in the epic 2001 Test series win over Australia, where he scalped 32 wickets from three Tests, will forever remain etched in the memories of Indian fans. Overall, he finished his career with 417 wickets, currently the fourth highest for an Indian player, and averaged 32.46, possessing a SR of 68.5. He also contributed some crucial runs lower down the order and has two centuries to his name as well. He averaged 18.22 with the bat, scoring 2,224 runs from 103 Tests. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  File image of Virender Sehwag. AFP[/caption] Virender Sehwag — 104 Tests The dashing opener revolutionised Test batting and went on to score 8,586 runs at an average of 49.34, scoring at a strike rate of 82.23. He finished with 23 Test tons to his name and 32 fifties. He also snapped up 91 catches. He was a handy part time off spinner as well, scalping 40 wickets which included best bowling figures of 5/104. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.