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Virat Kohli scales a cricketing Everest, moves closer to Sachin Tendulkar; overtakes Sangakkara in this all-time list
In the final ODI against Australia, Virat Kohli scored 54 runs, elevating him to the second-highest ODI run-scorer, ahead of Kumar Sangakkara.
Virat Kohli has scaled down another huge record. After a couple of ducks in the first two matches of the ODI series against Australia, he looked under pressure. However, when he arrived in SCG for the last and final match, he looked like a different version of himself.
Notably, Australia batted first in the game after winning the toss. Kohli’s body language and fitness looked better on the field from the onset of the match. The intensity carried over to the second innings of the match, when he came out to bat.
The Indian bowlers bundled the Aussies out for 236 runs in the 47th over of the innings. Kohli walked out to bat after Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma gave the visitors a solid start. 69 runs were already on the board when the skipper was dismissed on the third delivery of the 11th over by Josh Hazlewood.
The SCG stood up and welcomed the Indian legend to the crease. Virat pushed the first ball of his knock to the mid-on region and took a single, marking his first runs of the tour. The man was seen celebrating the moment with a punch in the air.
Kohli rewrites the record books
After that, Kohli gradually got into his stride and kept building his knock. The rotation of strikes, the occasional boundaries - everything was present in the knock that defines a trademark Kohli knock in ODIs. Along with Rohit, he ensured that India marched towards a comfortable win in the match.
As Kohli crossed 54 runs in the innings, he set a huge record. He is now the second-highest run-scorer in ODIs. Only Sachin Tendulkar lies ahead of him. Notably, Kohli has overtaken the Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara in the list.
Rank | Player | Team | Mat | Inn | Runs | 100s | 50s | Avg |
1 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | 463 | 452 | 18,426 | 49 | 96 | 44.83 |
2 | Virat Kohli | India | 305 | 293 | 14,255* | 51 | 75 | 57.71* |
3 | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 404 | 380 | 14,234 | 25 | 93 | 41.98 |
4 | Ricky Ponting | Australia | 375 | 365 | 13,704 | 30 | 82 | 42.03 |
5 | Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 445 | 433 | 13,430 | 28 | 68 | 32.36 |
What sets him apart is his consistency. He is the only batter in the top five who has an average of over 50 in the format. This stands as a testimony to not only the volume of runs he has scored, but also to the impeccable consistency he has scored them.
India are positioned brilliantly to win the match in SCG. If India do end up winning the game, it would mean that Kohli is also the only batter to have scored 6000 plus runs in successful ODI chases.
