India vs West Indies: Virat Kohli becomes fourth Indian to complete 500 international appearances

Virat Kohli added another feather to his cap on Thursday when he became only the fourth Indian cricketer to complete 500 international appearances during the second Test against West Indies in Port of Spain.

The second Test between West Indies and India, which happens to be the 100th meeting between the two teams in the red-ball format, is Kohli’s 111th in whites. The former India captain has also played 274 ODIs and 115 T20Is.

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Kohli joins an elite list which includes Sachin Tendulkar (664), MS Dhoni (538) and current head coach Rahul Dravid (509) as the other Indians.

500 reasons to admire the journey!

Congratulations to Virat Kohli on his 5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th international match for #TeamIndia #WIvIND | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/Y9lez80Q97

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 20, 2023

The Sri Lankan trio of Mahela Jayawardene (652), Kumar Sangakkara (594) and Sanath Jayasuriya (586), former Australia’s Ricky Ponting (560), Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi (524) and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis (519) are some of the other players in the exclusive club.

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West Indies, meanwhile, won the toss and elected to field on the opening day of the second Test against India, with both teams fielding debutants. While India decided to hand Bengal pacer Mukesh Kumar his maiden international cap in place of all-rounder Shardul Thakur, Kirk McKenzie replaced Raymond Reifer in the West Indian lineup.

India currently are leading the two-match Test series 1-0 after thrashing the hosts by an innings and 141 runs in the series opener at Windsor Park in Roseau, Dominica. Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed a majestic 171 on debut while Ravichandran Ashwin ran through the Windies batting lineup with hauls of 5/60 and 7/71.