Virat Kohli set to achieve new milestone of 500 international matches

 

India's star batsman Virat Kohli will create history when he takes the field against the West Indies in the last Test of the two-Test series on Thursday.  He will play his 500th match in international cricket .  Virat Kohli, who made his debut in 2008, has become the backbone of the Indian team today.

 Virat Kohli led the Indian team in the Under-19 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur in early 2008  and led the team to victory.  At this time it was evident that he would one day become a great cricketer in this game.  In 2010 itself, he started breaking records of decades.  Fans saw him become the ICC Men's Player of the Decade.

 Virat has played 110 Test matches for India, in which he has scored 8,555 runs at an average of 48.88.  He has scored 28 centuries and 29 half-centuries in his Test career.  His highest Test innings is 254 not out.  He is the fifth highest run scorer in Test cricket for India.

 Virat has scored a total of 7 double centuries.  Which is the highest by any Indian batsman.  The most double centuries have been scored by Australian legend Don Bradman, who has scored 12 centuries in Test cricket.  Virat Kohli has achieved great success as a Test captain.  He has led India in 68 Test matches.  Of these, Virat has won 40, lost only 17 and drawn 11.  He is the first Indian captain to win a series against Australia in Australia ( in 2018-19) 

 In 274 ODIs, Virat Kohli has scored 12,898 runs at an average of 57.32.  He has scored 46 centuries and 65 half-centuries.  Mostly batting at 3 , he is India's second highest run scorer in ODI cricket.  Overall, he is the fifth highest run-scorer in ODI cricket.

Virat has a glittering record in T20Is too scoring 4008 runs at 52.34 average and 138 strke rate in 115 games .He has got 1 century & 37 fifties in the smallest format . His tally of runs is currently the highest in T20Is .

Virat is the fastest ODI player in history to score 8000 runs (175 innings), 9000 (194 innings), 10,000 runs (205 innings), 11,000 runs (222 innings) and 12,000 runs (242 innings).  

 Virat has scored 25,461 runs in 558 innings of 499 international matches at an average of 53.48.  He has scored 75 centuries and 131 half-centuries.  He is the sixth highest run scorer in cricket history.  He holds the record for scoring the second highest number of centuries.  After 2000, no batsman has scored runs as fast as Virat Kohli.  That's why cricket fans call him Run Machine Kohli.

 Now when it comes to a complete cricketer, he should not be weighed on the basis of any one format but in the scales of his international matches and when anyone weighs Virat with Smith, Root, Williamson in such scales, he alone looks well ahead amongst the much talked about fab 4 .

 Virat Kohli has scored 75 centuries in international cricket.  While Root has 46 centuries against them.  Smith has 44 centuries and Kane Williamson has 41 international centuries.   He won  maximum the player of the match awards in international cricket, which is the highest.  Virat Kohli has now won 63 Player of the Match awards in International Cricket.  Whereas Williamson is at number two with 28 Player of the Match awards.  Similarly, Smith has won 26 and Root has won 25 Player of the Match awards.

If we combine the records of all the 3 formats,  Virat is well ahead of Smith, Root and Williamson .

 Virat has the most number of double centuries among the Fab Four in Test cricket.  And, he is also going to play his 500th international match at the same ground from where he started scoring a double century in Tests.  Similarly, in ODI cricket,  Smith, Root and Williamson, together has scored  17701 runs.  Whereas Virat Kohli alone has scored 12898 runs.  Similarly, in T20I also Virat is the biggest run getter .  He has scored 4008 runs in this format, around which Smith, Root, Williamson are not visible at the moment.

 It is clear that to know Virat Kohli, cricket needs to be seen completely, not on the basis of any one format, he should be judged. In test cricket surely Smith, Root and Williamson is ahead of Virat at this point  but we see Virat as a complete cricketer across formats ,  then we will see him standing far ahead of Smith, Root, Williamson.