Kohli’s International Debut and Early Career
Virat Kohli made his international debut for India against Sri Lanka on August 18, 2008, in Dambulla. At the time, the 19-year-old had recently captained India to victory in the Under-19 World Cup. His debut in the One Day International (ODI) match saw him open the innings and score 12 runs from 22 balls before being dismissed by Nuwan Kulasekara. India was bowled out for 146, and Sri Lanka won the match by eight wickets.
Despite a modest start, Kohli’s career evolved significantly. He transitioned from a promising batter to a key player across all formats for India. His journey has been characterised by consistent performance, accumulating over 28,000 international runs and 85 centuries. He is second only to Sachin Tendulkar in the number of international centuries.
Notable Records and Achievements
Kohli holds several distinctions in international cricket. He is the only player to have won all major white-ball titles in the sport’s history, including the U19 World Cup and the IPL. He also holds the record for sweeping all ICC Awards in 2018, being named the ‘Cricketer of the Year’, ‘Test Player of the Year’, and ‘ODI Player of the Year’ simultaneously. In total, he has won 10 ICC Awards, the most by any player.
His performance in 2018 was particularly strong, with 2,735 runs in 37 matches at an average of 68.37, including 11 centuries and nine fifties. This period included a 558-run ODI series in South Africa and Test centuries in India, Australia, England, and South Africa. Kohli also holds the record for most runs across 10 successive ODI innings, with 995 runs at an average of 142.14, featuring five centuries and three fifties. This run also contributed to him becoming the fastest to reach 10,000 ODI runs, achieving the milestone in just 205 innings.
Kohli is the only Indian player to have scored an international century on both Independence Day (114* against West Indies in 2019) and Republic Day (116 against Australia in Adelaide in 2012, which was his first Test century). He is also one of only four Indians, alongside Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Mohammed Azharuddin, to have scored Test centuries in all SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) nations.
With 59 centuries in winning causes, Kohli has the most tons contributing to victories. In ODIs, 44 of his 54 centuries have resulted in a win for India. He has also scored seven Test double centuries, the most by an Indian captain, achieving them faster than Don Bradman, in 1,176 days compared to Bradman’s 1,484 days for his first seven double tons.
In run-chases of 350-plus runs in the 50-over format, Kohli has an exceptional record. India has successfully chased down 350-plus targets in three out of four matches, with Kohli scoring a century in each of these successful chases. Across these four innings, he has accumulated 411 runs at an average of 205.50, including three centuries and a fifty.
Kohli is the leading run-scorer in T20 World Cup history, with 1,292 runs in 35 matches, including 15 fifties. Notably, whenever he has remained unbeaten in the tournament, India has won the match, a feat he has achieved eight times, scoring 464 runs with six fifties in those instances.
He has scored Test double centuries against six different opponents: West Indies, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. This places him in an elite group with Younis Khan and Kumar Sangakkara for double tons against the most opponents. Kohli also holds the record for scoring back-to-back ODI centuries 12 times, surpassing AB de Villiers’ seven.
As a former world number one across all formats, Kohli is the only player to have achieved 900-plus rating points in Test, ODIs, and T20Is. Among the top 20 international run-getters, he is currently the only one with an all-format batting average of fifty-plus, specifically 52.71. He also holds the most ‘Player of the Series’ awards in international cricket, with a total of 22, ahead of Sachin Tendulkar’s 20.
Kohli has the most runs across all ICC limited-overs tournaments, combining the 50-over and 20-over World Cups and ICC Champions Trophy, with 3,834 runs in 90 matches and 87 innings at an average of 61.83, including six centuries and 33 fifties. He also leads in ‘Player of the Match’ awards in ICC limited-over tournaments, with 15 such accolades.
Longevity and Future Milestones
Kohli’s longevity in the IPL is also evident, with nine seasons where he scored 500 runs or more, including four consecutive seasons with 600-plus runs. Kohli is currently chasing several records held by Sachin Tendulkar, including most ODI runs, international runs, international 100s, ODI 50+ scores, and international 50+ scores. He needs 3,486 runs to surpass Tendulkar’s ODI run tally of 18,426.
One record that appears within reach for Kohli is becoming the fastest to 15,000 ODI runs. He needs an additional 59 runs and has 74 innings to achieve this milestone. Kohli’s career, which began with 12 runs on August 18, 2008, has evolved into one of the most decorated in cricket history.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
