World No. 1 ODI batter Virat Kohli entered his name in the history books on Wednesday (January 14) by becoming India’s highest run getter in ODIs against New Zealand. The 37-year-old right-handed batter from Delhi needed 1 run in the ongoing second India-New Zealand ODI in Rajkot to go past Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 1750 runs, and he achieved the objective by smacking Kiwi pacer Kristian Clarke for a four on the first ball of his innings.
Tendulkar played 42 ODIs against New Zealand during his 24-year-long international career, whereas the ongoing match in Rajkot is Kohli’s 35th ODI for India against the Black Caps.
Most runs for India in ODIs against New Zealand
| PLAYER | MATCHES | INNINGS | RUNS | BEST SCORE | AVERAGE | 100/50 |
| Virat Kohli | 35* | 35* | 1754* | 154* | 56.45 | 6/10 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 42 | 41 | 1750 | 186* | 46.05 | 5/8 |
| Virender Sehwag | 23 | 23 | 1157 | 130 | 52.59 | 6/3 |
| Rohit Sharma | 33* | 31 | 1123 | 147 | 37.43 | 2/6 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 40 | 39 | 1118 | 108* | 36.06 | 1/7 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 32 | 31 | 1079 | 153* | 35.96 | 3/6 |
| Rahul Dravid | 31 | 31 | 1032 | 153 | 41.28 | 2/5 |
| MS Dhoni | 28 | 26 | 940 | 84* | 49.47 | 0/7 |
| Ajay Jadeja | 28 | 25 | 828 | 95 | 43.57 | 0/7 |
| Kapil Dev | 29 | 27 | 684 | 75 | 32.57 | 0/5 |
One run by Kohli in the second ODI also helped him become the highest run-getter
in ODIs played between India and New Zealand.
Most runs in India-New Zealand ODIs
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | RUNS |
| Virat Kohli | India | 35* | 1754* |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 42 | 1750 |
| Ross Taylor | New Zealand | 35 | 1385 |
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 31 | 1239 |
| Nathan Astle | New Zealand | 29 | 1207 |
| Virender Sehwag | India | 23 | 1157 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 33* | 1123 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | India | 40 | 1118 |
| Stephen Fleming | New Zealand | 40 | 1098 |
| Sourav Ganguly | India | 32 | 1079 |
The overall record of scoring the most runs in ODIs against New Zealand is in the name of former Australian skipper and legendary batter Ricky Ponting. Ponting played 51 ODIs against the Black Caps from 1995 to 2011 and amassed a total of 1971 runs in 50 innings.
Kohli needs to score 218 more runs in the two matches to go past that tally and take the No. 1 position.
Most runs in ODIs against New Zealand
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | RUNS | BEST SCORE | AVERAGE | 100/50 |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 51 | 1971 | 141* | 45.83 | 6/12 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 35* | 1754* | 154* | 56.45 | 6/10 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 42 | 1750 | 186* | 46.05 | 5/8 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 47 | 1568 | 113* | 40.20 | 2/12 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 47 | 1519 | 140 | 33.75 | 5/8 |
| Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 45 | 1449 | 111 | 40.25 | 3/9 |
| Mark Waugh | Australia | 39 | 1362 | 110 | 40.05 | 3/9 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 50 | 1326 | 116 | 33.15 | 3/5 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 39 | 1308 | 116 | 42.19 | 3/6 |
| David Boon | Australia | 39 | 1305 | 100 | 39.54 | 1/9 |
If Kohli manages to score at least 250 runs in the second and third ODIs, then he will also become the first batter in the world to score 2000 ODI runs against the Kiwis.
In the ongoing second ODI against New Zealand in Rajkot, if Kohli manages to score 50 runs at least, then he will become the first Indian to score six back-to-back 50-plus scores in ODIs.
