Virat Kohli completes 9000 runs in Tests. (Courtesy: AP)Aijaz Rahi

Watch: Virat Kohli arrives in Pune ahead of 2nd India vs New Zealand Test

India's star batter Virat Kohli has reached Pune to join the squad for the second Test against New Zealand. Despite a strong performance in the second innings in Bengaluru, India will be looking to him for inspiration to level the series.

by · India Today

In Short

  • The star batter reached Pune on Tuesday
  • Kohli scored 70 in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test
  • Kohli reached the landmark of 9000 runs during 1st Test

India's star batter Virat Kohli has arrived in Pune to link up with the squad ahead of the 2nd Test against New Zealand, which will start from October 24. Kohli, after the Bengaluru Test, had directly flown to Mumbai to be with his family. While the star batter failed in his promotion to No.3 in the first innings, Kohli played a fine hand in the second innings.

Kohli scored 70 in the second innings and would become the 4th Indian batter to reach the landmark of 9000 Test runs. However, the effort from Kohli wasn't enough as New Zealand would end up winning the match by 8 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Kohli arrived in Pune on October 22, Tuesday in an uber cool look and quickly exited the airport and make his way to join the team. You can see the full video below:

Kohli one of the biggest wickets in Test cricket

Kohli had looked set for a big score in Bengaluru, and it was Glenn Phillips who dismissed him in the end. The New Zealand all-rounder said that Kohli is one of the biggest wickets in Test cricket at the moment and getting him with the last ball of the day was incredible.

"Yeah, he is probably one of the biggest wickets in Test cricket going around at the moment. To be able, to produce something special on the last ball of the day, was quite incredible. They put on a big partnership and put us on the back foot. But to contribute in that way, on the last ball of the day, the tension had built up. They had been playing really well upto that point, took a little bit of momentum for us going into the next day," Glenn Phillips said in an interview with New Zealand Cricket (NZC).

With their backs against the wall heading into the Pune Test, India will be looking to Kohli to inspire them to make a comeback.