Virat Kohli Double Centuries in Test Cricket

Virat Kohli has scored 7 double centuries in Test cricket, the most by any Indian batter and the most by any captain in the history of the format. All seven arrived in a remarkable burst between July 2016 and October 2019, a period in which he converted big starts into monumental scores more reliably than any batter in world cricket. His highest Test score, 254 not out against South Africa at Pune in 2019, sits at the top of that list.

Kohli retired from Test cricket in May 2025, so the tally of seven is final. It places him joint fourth on the all-time list of Test double-centurions, level with Wally Hammond and Mahela Jayawardene, and behind only Don Bradman with 12, Kumar Sangakkara with 11, and Brian Lara with 9. This article lists all seven double centuries in full and explains the records each one built.

Complete List of Virat Kohli Double Centuries in Test Cricket

No.	Score	Balls	Opposition	Venue	Date	Fours	Sixes	Result
1	200	283	West Indies	North Sound, Antigua	July 2016	24	0	India won
2	211	366	New Zealand	Indore	October 2016	20	0	India won
3	235	340	England	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai	December 2016	25	1	India won
4	204	246	Bangladesh	Hyderabad	February 2017	24	0	India won
5	213	267	Sri Lanka	Nagpur	November 2017	17	2	India won
6	243	287	Sri Lanka	Delhi	December 2017	25	0	Drawn
7	254 not out	336	South Africa	Pune	October 2019	33	2	India won

The First Double Century: 200 Against West Indies, 2016

Kohli’s first Test double century came in July 2016 against West Indies at North Sound in Antigua, in the first Test of India’s tour of the Caribbean. Batting at No. 4 and captaining the side, he scored 200 from 283 balls with 24 fours, reaching the milestone in the first innings of the match. India won the Test, and the innings set the tone for everything that followed.

The knock mattered because it broke a barrier. Before 2016, Kohli had been a prolific century-maker but had never passed 200 in a Test. Once he crossed the mark for the first time, the doubles began to flow. Within seventeen months he had added five more, and the 200 at Antigua now reads as the starting point of the most productive big-score phase of his career.

The 2016 Treble: Three Double Centuries in One Calendar Year

Kohli scored three double centuries in 2016, becoming only the fifth batter in history to reach three doubles in a single calendar year. After the 200 against West Indies, he made 211 against New Zealand at Indore in October, from 366 balls, in another first-innings statement that set up an Indian win. Then in December came the 235 against England at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, scored from 340 balls with 25 fours and a six, in the second innings of the match.

The 235 against England was the most demanding of the three. It came against a strong attack, in a long innings that required concentration across two days, and it underlined a new quality in Kohli’s batting: the ability to bat long without losing his scoring rate. He finished 2016 with three doubles, and he was only getting started.

The 2017 Treble and a Record for Consecutive Series

Kohli repeated the feat in 2017, scoring three more double centuries and becoming the first batter ever to score four double centuries in four consecutive Test series. The run began with 204 against Bangladesh at Hyderabad in February 2017, made from just 246 balls with 24 fours, one of the fastest double centuries of his career by balls faced.

Later that year came two doubles against Sri Lanka in successive home Tests. He scored 213 from 267 balls at Nagpur in November, with 17 fours and 2 sixes, in an innings that helped India to victory. Then he followed it with 243 from 287 balls at Delhi in December, with 25 fours, in a match that ended in a draw. The year 2017 also made him the first captain to score eleven centuries in a calendar year, and it confirmed his habit of turning hundreds into doubles: once he passed 150, he rarely stopped before 200.

The 204 against Bangladesh also carried a captaincy record. It was part of a sequence in which Kohli scored double centuries in four straight series, a feat no batter had managed before. The consistency was the point: this was not one hot month but a sustained period of dominance across different opponents, conditions, and match situations.

The Peak: 254 Not Out Against South Africa, 2019

Kohli’s seventh and final Test double century was also his biggest. In October 2019 against South Africa at Pune, he scored an unbeaten 254 from 336 balls, striking 33 fours and 2 sixes. It is his highest Test score, and it surpassed his own record for the highest score by an Indian captain, the 243 he had made against Sri Lanka at Delhi two years earlier.

The innings was also his first Test hundred at home against South Africa, and it came after a period in which he had gone without a Test century. India won the match, and the 254 not out stands as the defining innings of his peak years: complete control against pace and spin, ruthless punishment of anything loose, and the stamina to bat deep into a second day. He never scored another Test double century. His last Test was in 2025, more than five years after the Pune innings, by which time his Test career had entered its final phase.

Double Centuries by Indian Batters

Kohli’s seven double centuries are the most by any Indian batter, moving him past two of the greatest names in the country’s cricket history.

Batter	Test Double Centuries
Virat Kohli	7
Sachin Tendulkar	6
Virender Sehwag	6
Rahul Dravid	5

Sehwag’s tally includes two triple centuries, which Kohli never matched, but on doubles alone Kohli stands clear. Tendulkar and Sehwag each finished with six; Dravid, the great accumulator, finished with five. Kohli passed them all before his 31st birthday.

Double Centuries as Captain: A Record That Stands Alone

Every one of Kohli’s seven double centuries came while he was captaining India, which makes his captaincy record unique. No other Test captain has scored more than five double centuries as skipper.

Captain	Double Centuries as Captain
Virat Kohli	7
Brian Lara	5
Michael Clarke	4

The captaincy context matters because leading a side adds pressure to every innings: team selection, field settings, and match strategy all compete for attention. Kohli’s doubles as captain suggest the opposite effect. Responsibility seemed to sharpen his concentration, and his biggest scores came in matches where India were setting up wins rather than saving games.

Patterns in the Seven Doubles

Several patterns run through the list. First, the seven doubles came against six different opponents: West Indies, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka twice, and South Africa. Australia, the team against whom Kohli scored nine Test centuries overall, is the only side he faced regularly without ever making a double century against them.

Second, six of the seven came at home in India, with only the first, at Antigua, scored overseas. Home conditions, familiar pitches, and batting first all helped. Third, all seven came while batting at No. 4, the position he made his own in Tests. Fourth, six of the seven ended in Indian victories; only the 243 at Delhi finished as a draw, and none of the seven came in a defeat.

Finally, the timing is striking. All seven doubles arrived within 39 months, from July 2016 to October 2019, and he never scored one before or after that window. It was a concentrated peak rather than a career-long habit, which is what makes it so distinctive: for a little over three years, Kohli turned big hundreds into doubles almost as a matter of routine, and then the phase ended.

Kohli’s Test Career in Context

Kohli finished his Test career with 9,230 runs from 123 matches at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties. He led India in 68 Tests and won 40, both Indian records, including the country’s first Test series win in Australia in 2018-19. The seven double centuries are the most eye-catching part of that record, but they sit within a broader career of sustained excellence across conditions. For the combined tally across formats, see Kohli centuries in all formats and Kohli international and IPL centuries.

After 2019, his Test batting changed. He went through a long phase without a century, scoring two in 2023 and one in 2024, before announcing his retirement from the format on 12 May 2025. The doubles remained frozen at seven, a record that still stands as the most by an Indian and the most by any Test captain.

How many double centuries does Virat Kohli have in Tests?

Virat Kohli has 7 double centuries in Test cricket, the most by an Indian batter and the most by any Test captain.

What is Virat Kohli’s highest Test score?

His highest Test score is 254 not out against South Africa at Pune in October 2019, scored from 336 balls with 33 fours and 2 sixes.

When did Kohli score his first Test double century?

His first Test double century was 200 against West Indies at North Sound, Antigua, in July 2016.

Did Kohli score a double century against Australia?

No. Australia is the only team Kohli played regularly in Tests without scoring a double century against them, despite making nine Test centuries against them in total.

How many double centuries did Kohli score as captain?

All seven of his double centuries came as captain, the most by any Test captain in history. Brian Lara is next with five.

Who has the most double centuries in Test cricket?

Don Bradman leads with 12, followed by Kumar Sangakkara with 11 and Brian Lara with 9. Kohli’s seven leave him joint fourth with Wally Hammond and Mahela Jayawardene.