Virat Kohli Shines in ODI Victory Against New Zealand, Breaks Records
Kohli's Stellar Performance Leads India to Victory
In a remarkable display, former Indian captain and renowned batsman Virat Kohli played a pivotal role in the Men in Blue's four-wicket triumph over New Zealand during the first ODI of their three-match series. The match took place at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium in Vadodara on January 11.
Chasing a target of 301 runs set by New Zealand, India successfully reached the target with just six balls remaining, taking a 1-0 lead in the series. Kohli was the standout performer, scoring 93 runs off 91 balls, which included nine boundaries and a six. Other key contributions came from skipper Shubman Gill (56), vice-captain Shreyas Iyer (49), KL Rahul (29 not out), and Harshit Rana (29), all of whom played crucial roles in securing the win.
Bowling Highlights
Mohammed Siraj spearheaded India's bowling attack, achieving figures of 2 wickets for 40 runs in his 8 overs, maintaining an economy rate of 5. Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna also contributed significantly, each taking two wickets, as they restricted New Zealand to a total of 300 runs for 8 wickets in their allotted 50 overs.
Kohli Achieves Milestone
During his innings, Kohli reached a significant milestone by accumulating 28,000 international runs, becoming only the third player in cricket history to do so, following legends Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara. Kohli achieved this feat in just 624 innings, making him the fastest to reach this landmark, surpassing Tendulkar's previous record of 644 innings.
As of now, Kohli has scored a total of 28,068 runs, which includes 84 centuries and 146 fifties, with an impressive average of 52.66 across 624 innings. He is currently the second-highest run-scorer in ODIs, with 14,650 runs, and ranks third in T20I run-scoring with 4,188 runs.
Chasing Tendulkar's Records
Kohli has consistently broken numerous records previously held by Tendulkar, including the most ODI centuries and the fastest to reach various run milestones. Currently, he is on a quest to surpass Tendulkar's all-time record of 100 international centuries.
One of the records Kohli aims to break is Tendulkar's ODI run total of 18,426 runs. Kohli is currently 3,776 runs short of this record, having played 309 ODIs so far.
Future Prospects
With 17 ODIs remaining this year, including two against New Zealand, and additional matches in the Asia Cup and World Cup, Kohli has a realistic chance to challenge Tendulkar's record. To surpass Tendulkar, Kohli would need to maintain an exceptional average of 97 runs per match over the next two years.
If Kohli can achieve an average of around 225 runs per series, he could potentially join the exclusive 16,000-run ODI club in 2026. However, he would still need to score at a significantly higher rate than Tendulkar to break the 18,426-run barrier.