The veteran batter will be back in action on Sunday, September 27, when India begin their three match ODI series against West Indies at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Virat Kohli’s return to India’s ODI setup comes with several statistical landmarks within reach.
Kohli’s Impressive ODI Stats Approach Tendulkar’s Legacy
Virat Kohli continues to build on his remarkable One Day International (ODI) career, currently boasting a batting average of 58.59. As of now, he has scored 54 centuries and 79 fifties, with a highest score of 183.
In terms of his performance in India, Kohli has achieved 27 centuries and 36 fifties, with his best score on home soil being 166 not out.
For context, Sachin Tendulkar concluded his ODI career with a total of 18,426 runs accumulated over 463 matches from 1989 to 2012. Kohli’s statistics are increasingly drawing comparisons to this legendary figure in the sport.
Kohli has accumulated 14,941 runs in 314 ODIs, including 302 innings, leaving him 59 short of the 15,000 run mark. The former India captain has scored 2,261 runs in 43 ODIs against the Caribbean side, making him the leading run scorer in the fixture. Across all three international formats, Kohli has 3,850 runs in 73 matches and 75 innings against West Indies. A further 150 runs in the opening ODI would take him beyond 4,000 international runs against the team.
Reaching that figure in the series opener would make him only the second batter in men’s ODI history to achieve the milestone, with Sachin Tendulkar currently the only player above that mark. Kohli is already second on the all time ODI run scoring list. Kohli’s numbers against West Indies provide another route towards a significant record. He has also registered nine ODI centuries against West Indies. That puts another piece of history within Kohli’s reach during the three match assignment.
Kohli has scored 6,867 runs in 130 ODIs played in India. Tendulkar’s record for the most ODI runs on home soil stands at 6,976 from 164 matches. If Kohli scores 133 runs in the first ODI, he would become the first player to reach 7,000 ODI runs in home matches. His appearance on Sunday would be his 44th ODI against the Caribbean team, taking him past Mohammad Azharuddin’s tally of 43 matches. With 59 runs enough to take him into the 15,000 run club, 110 required to overtake Tendulkar’s home ODI tally and 133 potentially enough to reach 7,000 runs in India, Kohli enters the opening ODI with several statistical landmarks in sight.
Kohli therefore requires 110 more runs to move past the former India batter. There is an additional milestone beyond simply overtaking Tendulkar. Kohli could also strengthen his position in the list of India’s most capped ODI players against West Indies. Kohli currently shares that mark with the former India captain.
