Indian captain Virat Kohli just keeps going from strength to strength. On Saturday against Bangladesh, he notched up his 27th Test hundred during day two of the first pink-ball encounter in India at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. With this, Kohli became the first Indian batsman to register a hundred in a Day-Night Test.
The hundred at Kolkata was Kohli’s 20th as Test captain of India, Following the century, he moved to number two on list of captains with most hundreds in Tests, overtaking Ricky Ponting, who had 19 in his legendary career. Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith is on top of the list with 25 hundreds as Test captain.
With his latest hundred, Kohli also equalled Ponting’s record for most international centuries as captain of their respective teams. Both Kohli and Ponting are now tied on 41 each. South African Smith comes in third on the list with 33 international hundreds as leader of the Proteas.
In this feature, we take a closer look at the three most successful leaders in international cricket in terms of hundreds.
Overall batting record as captain
Ponting captained Australia in a total of 324 international matches, and ended up scoring 41 centuries across formats. Punter has 15,440 runs in these games at an average of 45.54 with 41 hundreds and 88 fifties with a best of 209.
Kohli, who equalled Ponting on the list of captains with most international hundreds, has so far played 160 matches as leader of India. He has amassed 10,697 runs at a stupendous average of 66.85 with 41 hundreds and 37 fifties. His best is 254 not out.
Looking at Smith, he led South Africa for a total of 286 times and amassed 14,878 runs in these matches. He is third on the list of captains with most international hundreds, having notched up 33 in his illustrious career. Smith also has 77 fifties to his credit, and finished his career with an overall best of 277.
Home vs away record
Ponting has featured in 132 matches at home in which he has 6,781 runs to his name at an average of 47.41 with 21 centuries and 35 fifties. Smith, on the other hand, played in 129 matches at home and notched up 6,227 including 13 hundreds and 39 fifties at an average of 40.17. Speaking of Kohli, he has so far featured in 64 matches at home and has 4,774 runs at a stupendous average of 72.33 with 19 centuries and 11 fifties.
In away matches also, Kohli has the most superior record. In 76 games, he has 5,155 runs to his name at a brilliant average of 65.25 with 22 hundreds and 19 fifties. Looking at Smith’s numbers, in 109 away games, he notched up 6,863 runs while averaging 47.65. The retired left-hander has 18 tons and 29 half-centuries to his credit in these games. As for Ponting, he led in 129 away games and finished with 6,561 runs averaging 45.56 and 15 hundreds apart from 40 fifties.
Performance in winning games
Analysing performance of the three captains in winning matches, Ponting featured in as many as 220 such games and amassed 11,675 runs at an average of 53.80 with 34 centuries and 66 fifties. Looking at Smith, he captained South Africa in 163 winning matches and scored 9,086 runs with 23 hundreds and 50 half-centuries at an average of 51.92. Finally, speaking about Kohli, he has featured in 106 matches which India has won and has scored 7,439 runs averaging 73.65 with 27 hundreds and 28 fifties.