“For Virat Kohli, I’ve said many times, he seems like the type of player you would love to have on your team. He is competitive. He is the best batsman in the world,” said Aussie team captain Tim Paine. If anyone ever raises any doubts regarding this Delhi-based cricketer’s efficiency, Kolhi’s stats speak for themselves.
In three formats of cricket, he proved himself countless times. Especially in ODI cricket, he hit a record that none can reach. Here we will look into some of Kohli’s achievements in the ODI, T20, and Test matches.
Why is Virat Kohli the modern-day cricket best batsman?
One Day International Cricket Records
On August 18, 2008, Virat played his first ODI match, in a blue jersey, against Sri Lanka. To this day, Virat has played 260 matches in 50 overs cricket and successfully scored 12311 runs on the board. His highest score in ODI cricket remains 183 against Pakistan in Dhaka.
Twenty-two fours and one six helped him get this career highlight. With 43 centuries and 64 half-centuries in his bag, Virat has been one of the most promising batsmen of ODI cricket. In 2017 Kohli set a record for scoring 1000 runs in a Calendar year. Till 2021, Virat has led India in 95 ODI matches, and India won 65 of them. It can be assumed that after Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli is the modern-day most successful Indian captain.
Former Indian cricketer turned commentator Aakash Chopra praised high for king Kohli in his recent interview to Betway.
“Virat Kohli actually changed the perception completely that 30 is the new 50 in t20 cricket. He was averaging 50 for a long time,” said Aakash Chopra during an interview to Betway.
Test Cricket Records
This right-handed batsman debuted in test cricket in 2011 against West Indies. In this longest format of Cricket, Kohli has played a total of 101 matches and scored 8043 runs. Kohli’s 254* remained his highest score in this format. Kohli has seven double centuries and 27 centuries next to his name. Till 2021, Virat Kohli has played 68 Tests while being the captain of team India. Under his captaincy, India has won 40 test matches which is incredible. So no doubt that Virat is one of the most successful test skippers in Indian Cricket.
While reminiscing about the best innings, Kohli played in test cricket, a few moments stand out the most. His 149 against England in the 2018 tour, 254* against South Africa in SA’s tour of India in 2019, and 103 against England in 2018, where he received the player of the match title too.
T20 International Cricket / IPL Records
Virat Kohli is known for being a big hitter, and in the shortest format of cricket, t20, Virat’s batting style encouraged him to put more runs on the board. For his country, he played 97 matches and scored 3296 runs, with an average of 51.50. Though in this format, Kohli has not yet hit a century, he scored 94* against the West Indies in 2019, and that stays as his highest score.
Besides T20 International, Virat has proved his capability in t20 IPL too. In IPL, he has achieved over 6000 runs with a strike rate of 130.08. In 2016 Kohli even won the Orange Cap for being the biggest run machine in IPL with 973 runs on the board.
