Star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli is just one significant performance away from reaching new heights among Indian batters as they face New Zealand in the second ODI at Rajkot on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old
is in exceptional form, having achieved five consecutive fifty-plus scores in ODI cricket so far. This streak began during the final ODI against Australia in Sydney and continued in the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara, where he scored a brilliant 93 off 91 balls, featuring eight fours and a six. Virat demonstrated an impeccable batting approach, maintaining a strike rate of more than a run a ball without offering any chances.
1st Indian And…
Currently, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma, and Ajinkya Rahane share the record of five successive fifty-plus scores with Virat. A half-century in the next match would make him the first Indian batter to achieve six consecutive fifty-plus ODI scores. On the global stage, Pakistan legends Javed Miandad with nine and Imam-ul-Haq with seven consecutive fifty-plus scores hold the top two positions. Other notable batters with six consecutive fifty-plus scores in ODIs include Kane Williamson, Shai Hope, Babar Azam, Paul Stirling, Ross Taylor, and Chris Gayle.
In his last five ODIs, Virat has amassed 469 runs at an average of 156.33, including two centuries and three fifties. If we consider his two appearances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) for Delhi, where he scored 131 and 77 respectively, he has seven consecutive fifty-plus scores in List-A cricket. Over these seven innings, Virat has scored 677 runs at an average of 135.4, with three centuries and four fifties.
After Breaking Records Of…
In the first one-day international on Sunday, the 37-year-old became the fastest player to reach 28,000 runs across formats in international cricket, making him the second-highest scorer behind Sachin Tendulkar.
Playing in his 624th innings, Kohli achieved this milestone by hitting a four off New Zealand leg-spinner Adithya Ashok. Tendulkar had reached this landmark during his 644th innings, while Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara, the only other player in the 28,000-run club, accomplished this feat in his 666th innings.
(With inputs from Agencies)
