Virat Kohli turns 35: A look at astonishing accomplishments of India's 'Chase Master'
PTC News Desk: The star Indian batsman Virat Kohli turns 35 today. Widely regarded as one of the greatest to ever wield a cricket bat, Kohli will have a working birthday with India facing South Africa in a highly-anticipated ICC World Cup clash.
Virat has consistently dominated headlines with his extraordinary run-scoring ability since his early days when he led India to a U19 World Cup victory in 2008 and made his international debut the same year. Even though his early admirers and observers had no doubts about his greatness, Virat has broken records, chased runs, and won matches on his own with a frequency rarely seen in world cricket.
Virat has played 111 Tests for India, scoring 8,676 runs at an average of 49.29. He has 29 centuries and 29 fifties to his name, with a best score of 254*. He is India's fifth-highest Test scorer. Sachin is the all-time leading Test run-scorer, with 15,921 runs.
Notably, Virat has the fourth-most Test centuries for India and ranks among the top ten in the world.
King Kohli is also India's most successful Test captain. Virat has an incredible resume as a captain, with 40 wins, 17 losses, and 11 draws in 68 games. Under his captaincy, India won five consecutive ICC World Test Championship maces, finishing as the season's top-ranked side for five years in a row.
India managed to develop one of the most productive and fearsome Test pace attacks in history under his partnership with head coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun, featuring Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, and others.
Best ODI batsman of all time
Virat is one of the greatest ambassadors of red-ball cricket, as evidenced by the statistics and accomplishments listed above.
When you look at the raw statistics, it becomes clear that Virat is the best ODI batsman of all time.
Virat has scored 13,525 runs at an average of 58.04 in 288 ODIs, with 48 centuries and 70 tons in 276 innings. His highest score is 183. He is India's fourth-highest ODI run-getter and second-highest 50-over run-getter, trailing only Sachin Tendulkar, who has 18,426 runs in 463 matches.
Virat is on track to break Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI tons and 18,426 runs.
In Blue, the 'Chase-Master' Virat Kohli is a different beast than in ODIs. He has scored 7,794 runs while chasing at an average of 65.49 in 159 matches, with 27 centuries and 40 fifties.
Virat has scored 5,786 runs at an average of 90.40 in 102 ODIs during successful run-chases, with 23 centuries and 25 fifties in 96 innings.
He is also the fastest to reach the 8,000 to 13,000 ODI run milestones.
Virat has led India to 65 wins, 27 losses, one tie, and two no-results in 95 ODIs.
- ANI
