Virat Kohli will be back in action for India on Wednesday (November 4), and during the first ODI of the five-match series between India and New Zealand, he will have a chance to become the highest run-scorer in ODIs against the Kiwis.
Kohli, who is the second-highest run-scorer in ODIs, has played 36 one-dayers against the Black Caps so far and has 1,897 runs to his name. He needs 75 more runs in the first ODI to go past Ricky Ponting’s tally and take the No. 1 position.
Former Australia captain Ponting played 51 ODIs against their Trans-Tasman rivals from 1995 to 2011 and scored 1,971 runs.
Most ODI runs against New Zealand
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | TIME SPAN | MATCHES | INNINGS | RUNS | BEST SCORE | 100 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 1995-2011 | 51 | 50 | 1971 | 141* | 6 | 12 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 2010-2026 | 36 | 36 | 1897 | 154* | 7 | 10 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 1990-2009 | 42 | 41 | 1750 | 186* | 5 | 8 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 2001-2015 | 47 | 45 | 1568 | 113* | 2 | 12 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 1991-2009 | 47 | 45 | 1519 | 140 | 5 | 8 |
And if Kohli manages to score at least 139 runs in the first ODI, then he will go past Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 652 runs and
become India’s highest run-scorer in ODIs against the Kiwis in New Zealand.
As of now, he is in third place with 514 runs to his name in 11 ODIs against the Kiwis in their country.
Tendulkar finished his ODI career with 652 runs in 18 ODIs against the Black Caps in New Zealand, while Virender Sehwag scored 598 runs.
Most ODI runs for India against New Zealand (in New Zealand)
| PLAYER | TIME SPAN | MATCHES | INNINGS | RUNS | BEST SCORE | AVERAGE | STRIKE RATE | 100 | 50 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | 1990-2009 | 18 | 18 | 652 | 163* | 38.35 | 98.19 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Virender Sehwag | 2002-2009 | 12 | 12 | 598 | 125* | 54.36 | 103.1 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Virat Kohli | 2014-2020 | 11 | 11 | 514 | 123 | 46.72 | 91.45 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| MS Dhoni | 2009-2019 | 13 | 11 | 505 | 84* | 72.14 | 96.92 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Rahul Dravid | 1999-2003 | 12 | 12 | 425 | 123* | 38.63 | 63.33 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 2014-2022 | 12 | 12 | 372 | 75* | 33.81 | 77.01 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Rohit Sharma | 2009-2019 | 12 | 11 | 357 | 87 | 35.7 | 69.72 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Shreyas Iyer | 2020-2022 | 6 | 5 | 346 | 103 | 69.2 | 95.58 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
A minimum of 47 runs for Kohli in the first ODI will help him complete 1,000 international runs for India in New Zealand. So far, only three batters – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Azharuddin – have managed to score 1,000-plus international runs for India in New Zealand.
Most international runs for India in New Zealand
| PLAYER | TIME SPAN | MATCHES | INNINGS | RUNS | BEST SCORE | AVERAGE | 100 | 50 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | 1990-2009 | 33 | 40 | 1663 | 163* | 43.76 | 3 | 10 | 4 |
| Rahul Dravid | 1998-2009 | 19 | 26 | 1191 | 190 | 51.78 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 1990-1999 | 25 | 27 | 1038 | 192 | 41.52 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| MS Dhoni | 2009-2019 | 24 | 23 | 953 | 85* | 63.53 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Virat Kohli | 2014-2020 | 21 | 25 | 953 | 123 | 41.43 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
Since making his ODI debut for India on August 18, 2008, against Sri Lanka in an ODI match in Dambulla, Kohli has walked out to bat 168 times in ODI run chases and has scored 8,667 runs. He is just 54 runs away from breaking Tendulkar’s record for the most runs in ODI run chases. Tendulkar, who played 463 ODIs from 1989 to 2012, batted 232 times in the second innings and scored 8,720 runs for the Men in Blue.
Most runs in ODI run chase
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | TIME SPAN | MATCHES | INNINGS | RUNS | BEST SCORE | AVERAGE | 100 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 1989-2012 | 236 | 232 | 8720 | 175 | 42.33 | 17 | 52 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 2008-2026 | 175 | 168 | 8667 | 183 | 66.16 | 30 | 45 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 2007-2026 | 166 | 162 | 6801 | 152* | 51.13 | 19 | 40 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka, Asia | 1989-2011 | 214 | 210 | 5742 | 152 | 29.44 | 10 | 30 |
| Jacques Kallis | South Africa, ICC | 1996-2014 | 169 | 158 | 5575 | 139 | 44.95 | 5 | 45 |
Apart from Kohli, Rohit Sharma will also have a chance to break the record for scoring the most ODI sixes against New Zealand. As of now, he is behind Shahid Afridi.
Afridi played 38 one-dayers against the Black Caps and smashed 50 sixes, whereas Rohit has 49 sixes to his name in 34 ODIs against the two-time ODI World Cup runners-up.
Most sixes in ODIs against New Zealand
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | TIME SPAN | MATCHES | INNINGS | RUNS | BEST SCORE | SIXES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shahid Afridi | Pakistan | 1996-2015 | 38 | 35 | 1078 | 108* | 50 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 2009-2026 | 34 | 32 | 1134 | 147 | 49 |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | 2002-2019 | 30 | 28 | 1026 | 135 | 45 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 1991-2009 | 47 | 45 | 1519 | 140 | 41 |
| Jos Buttler | England | 2013-2025 | 28 | 25 | 832 | 129 | 29 |
And if Rohit manages to hit five sixes, then he will go past Chris Gayle’s record for the most sixes against New Zealand in international cricket.
Gayle finished his international career with 87 maximums in 51 matches against the Kiwis, while Rohit has 83 sixes to his name in 60 matches played so far.
Most sixes in international cricket against New Zealand
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | TIME SPAN | MATCHES | INNINGS | RUNS | BEST SCORE | SIXES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | 2002-2019 | 51 | 57 | 2542 | 204 | 87 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 2009-2026 | 60 | 66 | 2160 | 147 | 83 |
| Shahid Afridi | Pakistan | 1996-2016 | 54 | 50 | 1308 | 108* | 64 |
| Eoin Morgan | England/Ireland | 2007-2021 | 39 | 37 | 1117 | 113 | 53 |
| Fakhar Zaman | Pakistan | 2018-2026 | 38 | 36 | 1516 | 180* | 52 |
| Harry Brook | England | 2022-2026 | 24 | 30 | 1386 | 186 | 49 |
| Adam Gilchrist | Australia | 1997-2007 | 56 | 58 | 2171 | 162 | 49 |
A total of 17 sixes in the entire series will help Rohit become the first player in the world to score 100 or more international sixes against three different teams in ODIs. He also has 100-plus sixes to his name against Australia and the West Indies.
