The former India captain reached the landmark during a fluent knock of 93 in the first ODI against New Zealand. His effort extended his remarkable run of form in One Day Internationals.
File Photo: IANS
Virat Kohli climbed to second place on the all-time list of men’s international run-scorers, overtaking Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara and moving closer to the summit occupied by batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar.
The former India captain reached the landmark during a fluent knock of 93 in the first ODI against New Zealand. His effort extended his remarkable run of form in One Day Internationals. The innings, which featured eight boundaries and a six, was his fifth score of fifty or more in as many outings.
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Reflecting on the achievement after the match, Kohli said, “If I look back at my whole journey, it’s nothing short of a dream come true. I’ve always mentioned that I’ve always known my abilities. How much ability I had when I came in and I had to work for a lot more to get to the place I’m today and God has blessed me with way too much for me to complain about anything.”
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“So I feel nothing but gratitude. I always look back at my whole journey with a lot of grace and a lot of gratitude in my heart and I feel proud about it
“Honestly, the way I’m playing, I’m not thinking about the milestones. If we were batting first, I would have gone harder,” he added.
Set a target of 301, the 37-year-old Kohli anchored India’s chase after an early setback. With Rohit Sharma departing cheaply, he combined with skipper Shubman Gill in a crucial 118-run partnership for the second wicket to steady the innings.
“Well, the basic idea is I bat at No.3,” Kohli said after winning the Player-of-the-Match award for his 93 off 91 balls. “So if the situation is a bit tricky, I back myself to counterattack now rather than just trying to play the situation in because some ball has your name on it.”
“But at the same time, you don’t play outrageous shots. You still stick to your strengths, but you back yourself enough to put the opposition on the back foot,” he said.
Following Gill’s dismissal, Kohli continued to marshal the chase, ensuring India remained on course.
“I just felt like if I push hard now in the first 20 balls, then we can probably string in a partnership straight after a wicket like Rohit’s where the opposition is going to go on the back foot,” he said. “And that actually ended up being the difference in the game.”
The captain was full of praise for the senior batter’s impact and composure at the crease.
“The way he’s (Kohli) striking the ball at the moment makes things look so easy, even on a surface like this where it wasn’t easy to start, he made it look easy,” Gill said after the game.
India eventually sealed a four-wicket victory to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. The sides will meet again in the second ODI on January 14 in Rajkot.
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