Virat Kohli completes fabulous 15 years in International cricket

On this day in 2008, Virat Kohli, a key member of India’s batting squad, made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka. Just a few months prior to the Sri Lanka series, Virat had already solidified his place in history by leading India to victory in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup. Like many U19 captains before him, he had effectively lobbied for donning the Indian cap going forward. We’ll look at 15 fascinating facts about Virat Kohli‘s career in international cricket in this article.

Best ODI batting run in 10 matches

From February to October of last year, during the course of eleven ODI innings, Kohli scored close to 1000 runs. Between his 197th and 206th ODI innings, Kohli scored 995 runs at a 142.14 average, including more than 550 runs. The best hitting streak was a 10-inning run in ODIs. He scored 138 runs more than David Warner’s previous record of 857 runs scored between October 2016 and June 2017.

Kohli’s astonishing T20 World Cup average in chases

The success Kohli has had with the bat at the T20 World Cups is well-known. He was voted Player of the Tournament in 2014 and 2016, and he has a particularly strong track record in chases. India has won nine of the 10 games in which he has batted in chases, and in eight of those games, he has gone unbeaten.

Marcus Stoinis, the next-best batter among batters who have played at least five innings, averages 146 in those 10 chases, almost twice as much as Kohli’s average of 270.5, who is nearly twice as good. Kohli’s average in successful chases rises to 518, more than five times that of the runner-up, Cameron White (104).

Centuries at 46 venues

In the 83 venues of his international career, Kohli played. He holds the record for centuries at second-most venues. In 46 of these 83 locations, Kohli has recorded hundreds. His best hunting ground, Adelaide Oval, is notable since he has scored 5 tonnes there. It should come as no surprise that Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer to have centuries at more grounds. At 53 locations, the God of Cricket has recorded hundreds. 

Perfect World Cup debuts

Kohli gave his World Cup career the best possible start by scoring an uninterrupted century against Bangladesh in the tournament’s opening game in Dhaka. When he struck fifty against Afghanistan a year later, he became the first player to achieve a hundred on his men’s ODI World Cup debut and fifty on his men’s T20 World Cup debut. Aaron Finch matched this record by scoring 50 in the 2014 T20 World Cup and 100 on the opening day of the 2015 ODI World Cup.

More than 500 kilometres between the wickets

For his runs, Virat Kohli has travelled more than 277 km between wickets. He ran an additional 233 kilometres while his running companions were at the crease, bringing the total to roughly 510 kilometres. Only once in his career, against Zimbabwe in an ODI in 2013, has Kohli ever scored an all-run four.

Century in 9 countries

With the exception of Bangladesh, Kohli has scored a century in each of the nine ODI cricket-playing countries and seven of the eight Test cricket-playing countries. He has amassed hundreds in Test and One-Day International matches against the home team in six different countries: Australia, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and the West Indies. Only two players, Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara, who both had seven, have played in as many or more countries as Kohli in both Test and ODI matches against the home team.

Virat Kohli beats Sri Lanka by 93 runs

Virat Kohli struck 166 runs in the Thiruvananthapuram one-day international earlier this year without being removed, helping India amass 390 for five in their 50 overs. Sri Lanka won the match by a record-breaking 317 runs, the greatest margin in men’s ODI history, despite being bowled out for only 73 runs.

In an ODI match for men, Kohli alone outscored the Sri Lankans by 93 runs, which is the second-largest difference between a batter’s score and the opposition team’s total. 

Unique centuries while chasing

Kohli recorded the quickest ODI century for India in 2013 against Australia in Jaipur after coming into the batting in the 27th over. He later got a century at Nagpur off 61 balls, which was the third-fastest score for India in the format, later in the same series. In ODI chases, Kohli is the only player to have multiple hundreds when coming into the batting after the 25th over. Jos Buttler, Abdul Razzaq, Jacob Oram, and Kevin Pietersen are the only other batsmen with a century in an ODI chase after the 25th over. 

Three whitewashes in 5 match series

During the 2013 visit, Kohli steered India to a 5-0 ODI series triumph over Zimbabwe in his first full assignment as captain. He would experience this identical conclusion twice more over the course of the next few years. Without MS Dhoni, India defeated Sri Lanka 5-0 at home in 2014 under Virat Kohli’s direction. Sri Lanka lost 5-0 once more in 2017, however, this time it took place at home. Kohli remains the only captain in men’s ODI cricket to lead his team to three routes in a four-game or longer series.

Efficient double tons

Kohli has played in 41 Test matches and had tallied 1,100 runs prior to 2016, but he had only ever scored over 150 runs once (against Australia in Melbourne in 2014), and he had been ejected seven times for scoring less than 120 runs. But between 2016 and 2019, he turned seven of his 1500 into double hundreds, setting a record for India. In addition, between 2016 and 2017, Kohli created history by tallying double hundreds in four consecutive Test matches against the West Indies, New Zealand, England, and Bangladesh.

Centuries while chasing 300+

Kohli is still in a superior position while chasing, even if he is three hundred short of Sachin Tendulkar’s record 49 hundreds in ODIs. He presently has 26 hundred, which is nine more than Tendulkar’s 17 in ODI chases. India has attempted to accomplish goals of 300 or more times when up to nine of Kohli’s chasing hundreds have occurred. The closest rival on this list is Jason Roy, who has five such hundreds, and the other four batters have four tonnes total in 300-run target chases.

Youngest debutant opener for India

In an ODI match against Sri Lanka in 2008, Virat Kohli made his debut for his country at the age of 19 years and 287 days. He started the innings during the game, becoming the youngest Indian to do so in a men’s ODI. The only three players younger than Kohli to have started batting for India in men’s ODIs are Parthiv Patel, Yuvraj Singh, and Vinod Kambli. Kohli, who began each of the five games in that series, has only gone back to the opening position twice again in these fifteen years.

Master of big partnerships

Kohli has regularly been a part of sustained partnerships in ODI cricket. With 13 appearances in the 200-stand, he holds the record. He has shared five of them with Rohit Sharma, the most of any duo in the format. Other than Rohit, who has seven, no other player has been a part of more than seven double-century stands. The other eight double-hundred-stands by Kohli involved six partners: Gautam Gambhir (three), Virender Sehwag, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Kedar Jadhav and Ishan Kishan.

The incredible 0th ball wicket

Virat Kohli began to amass wickets in a T20I before he even actually threw a ball. In 2011, he bowled his maiden ball in the format and got Kevin Pietersen stumped with a wide. He still holds the record for taking a wicket from his very first delivery in any format in men’s international games. In just three other men’s T20I innings, Graeme Swann’s match against Shoaib Malik in 2010, Sunil Narine’s match against Martin Guptill in 2012, and Shakib Al Hasan’s match against Lendl Simmons in 2014, a bowler took a wicket before releasing their first legal ball.

History in Jamaica- Where it all started

Virat Kohli participated in his debut Test match at Sabina Park in 2011 right after helping India win the World Cup. Kohli was declared India’s most successful Test cricket captain after India defeated West Indies by 257 runs eight years later at the same venue. With 28 triumphs, Kohli surpassed MS Dhoni’s 27 victories while leading India in Test matches. Kohli concluded with 40 Test victories, which places him fourth among all captains, after adding another 12.