India vs Sri Lanka: Virat Kohli Joins Ricky Ponting As Skipper With Most Successive Series Wins, Ends Year With 2818 Runs

Virat Kohli equalled Ricky Ponting's world record of most successive series wins as captain as India claimed the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka at Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday. With this series victory, Kohli has now led India to nine consecutive Test series wins. The Indian captain equalled former Australia captain Ricky Ponting's record which he achieved in 2008. Under Ponting's captaincy, Australia won nine series on the trot from 2005 to 2008. England also registered nine straight series triumphs from 1884 to 1892. Kohli, who received Man of the Match and Man of the Series for his stellar performance against Sri Lanka, scored 610 runs in the series with an astounding average of 152.50.

The Indian captain, who has opted out of ODIs and Twenty20 series against the islanders, finished the year with 2818 international runs across all formats. He scored 1059 runs in 10 Tests, 1460 runs in 26 ODIs and 299 runs in 10 Twenty20 internationals including 11 hundreds (three double centuries).

However, the 29-year-old will remain third on the list of most number of runs in a calendar year. Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara is No.1 with 2868 runs (2014). Ponting, who had amassed 2833 runs in 2005, is second in the list.

I don't think that will last long the way @imVkohli is batting. He will probably overtake it next year and then do it again the year after. He is a different class.

— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) December 6, 2017

Kohli has also become the first Indian to score 600-plus runs in three different series. He scored 692 runs vs Australia in 2014-15 away series, 655 runs in the home series against England in 2016-17 and 610 runs in the just concluded series against Lanka. Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid had achieved the feat twice.

Most wins for a Captain in International cricket in a calendar year

31 - VIRAT KOHLI 2017
30 - R Ponting 2005
29 - S Jayasuriya 2001
29 - R Ponting 2003
29 - R Ponting 2007
29 - G Smith 2007

— Virat Kohli Club ???? (@ViratsArmy) December 6, 2017

Also, Kohli (32 centuries in ODIs) is second only to Sachin Tendulkar in most number of hundreds in ODIs and he is on course to topple the master blaster's 49 tons. The Delhi Dasher also has six double-hundreds in Tests, which is the most by a Test captain. He joined Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag at the top of the list for most double centuries by an Indian in Test cricket.