Dubai: During one of his post-match soundbytes over the dream run of nearly last four years now, Virat Kohli caught everyone by surprise when he said that it’s almost a "boring" regimen that he follows to be able to stay on the top of his game.
Kohli breaks Lara's record of double centuries
If the punishing fitness regimen and a world-class athlete’s diet is one, the other secret of his success, of course, lay in working on his game and ironing out the flaws.
Little wonder then that it has almost become routine to see the Indian captain scaling batting milestones – day in and day out.
Today was no different at the Feroze Shah Kotla, a venue he grew up learning the game, where he broke Brian Lara’s record for the highest number of double hundreds by a captain in international cricket with six double centuries.
The hapless Sri Lankans were his whipping boys once again.
Fresh from his 213 in India's thrashing of Sri Lanka in the second Test in Nagpur, Kohli achieved the feat in the first session of second day after he pulled paceman Suranga Lakmal for a couple of runs.
The demolition act ended when Kohli fell for 243 – just when his fans thought that the modern great’s first triple century was around the corner. The innings, nevertheless, was his career-best as Kohli now stands fifth in all-time list of double centurions.
Back problem
The Delhi-born star, battling a back problem, batted for over seven hours from first day as smashed 25 boundaries in his 287-ball stay at the crease. He was finally trapped lbw by left-arm wrist spinner Lakshan Sandakan in the afternoon sesison but not after surpassing his previous Test best of 235 against England.
• In pictures: Virat breaks record
Nicknamed ‘King Kohli,’ the prolific run-getter has also scored double tons against West Indies, New Zealand, England and Bangaldesh - and all have come as captain since early in 2016.
He also joined batting greats Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in India's list of most double hundreds by batsmen in Tests.
Top double-centurions in Tests
| Batsman | Tests | Innings | Average | Double centuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradman (Australia) | 52 | 80 | 99.94 | 12 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) | 134 | 233 | 57.40 | 11 |
| Brian Lara (Windies) | 131 | 232 | 52.88 | 9 |
| Wally Hammond (England) | 85 | 140 | 58.45 | 7 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) | 149 | 252 | 49.84 | 7 |
| Marvan Atapattu (Sri Lanka) | 90 | 156 | 39.02 | 6 |
| Virender Sehwag (India) | 104 | 180 | 49.34 | 6 |
| Javed Miandad (Pakistan) | 124 | 189 | 52.57 | 6 |
| Younis Khan (Pakistan) | 118 | 213 | 52.05 | 6 |
| Ricky Ponting (Australia) | 168 | 287 | 51.85 | 6 |
| Sachin Tendulkar (India) | 200 | 329 | 53.78 | 6 |
