Virat Kohli chasing Steve Smith, targets historic milestone at Gabba against Australia

New Delhi: Virat Kohli may not be in top form with the bat, but his fielding has been outstanding in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The 36-year-old has been a consistent presence in the slips, with his fielding often going unnoticed amid his batting performances.

Virat Kohli took a spectacular catch to dismiss Marnus Labuschagne in the third Test at Gabba, bringing his total to 70 catches. This now makes him the player with the most catches against Australia across all three formats.

Virat Kohli is currently 4th on the list of most catches taken against a single opposition, with Steve Smith leading the chart. The 35-year-old has grabbed 76 catches against England, and Virat is rapidly closing in on that record.

Mahela Jayawardene holds the second spot with 72 catches against England, while Allan Border is in third place with 71 catches.

Coming into the match, Jasprit Bumrah maintained his dominance by removing both openers, Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney, while Nitish Reddy dismissed the dangerous Marnus Labuschagne.

India made two changes for the third Test, with Ravindra Jadeja and Akash Deep coming into the starting XI, replacing Ravichandran Ashwin and Harshit Rana. The five-match Test series is evenly poised, and both India and Australia will be keen to assert their dominance in the race for a spot in the World Test Championship final.

Australia are the reigning WTC champions, having defeated India in the final last time. India’s fate hangs in the balance, and Rohit Sharma’s team must win the remaining Test matches to keep their hopes alive.

Here are some of Virat Kohli’s notable records and performances in 2024

IPL
Kohli was the top run-scorer in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL), accumulating 741 runs in 15 matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

T20Is
Kohli played 10 T20Is for India in 2024, including two against Afghanistan in January. He announced his retirement from T20Is after India secured victory in the T20 World Cup.

Test Matches
Kohli’s average in the six Test matches he played in 2024 was 22.72, marking his lowest since his Test debut in 2011.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Kohli is on the verge of surpassing Brian Lara’s record of 610 runs, aiming to set the record for the most Test runs by a visiting batter at the Adelaide Oval.