In India’s 1st ODI win vs New Zealand, Virat Kohli’s 93-run knock made him the fastest to 28,000 international runs, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar, and became the second-highest run-getter, raising the question if he can break Tendulkar’s ODI record.
Former Team India captain and star batter Virat Kohli put up a brilliant performance in the Men in Blue’s four-wicket win in the first ODI of the three-match series against New Zealand at Baroda Cricket Association Stadium/Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara on Sunday, January 11.
With a 301-run target set by New Zealand, Team India chased it down with six balls to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Virat Kohli led the batting with a brilliant knock of 93 off 91 balls, including nine fours and a six, while skipper Shubman Gill (56), vice-captain Shreyas Iyer (49), KL Rahul (29*), and Harshit Rana (29) made vital contributions to help the Men in Blue secure a four-wicket win in the series opener.
Earlier, Mohammed Siraj led India’s bowling attack with figures of 2/40 at an economy rate of 5 in his spell of 8 overs to restrict New Zealand to 300/8 in 50 overs. Harshit Rana (2/65) and Prasidh Krishna (2/60) also picked two wickets each, as India’s bowlers put in a disciplined effort to keep the Kiwis to a competitive but chaseable total.
Kohli Shatters Another Sachin Tendulkar’s Record
During his 93-run knock, Virat Kohli completed 28,000 international runs, becoming the third batter after Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara to achieve this rare milestone in the history of international cricket. Kohli was just 25 runs away from joining the elite, and the veteran Indian officially entered the exclusive 28,000-run club in international cricket.
Kohli is the fastest batter to complete 28,000 international runs, achieving the milestone in 624 innings. He surpassed his former Indian teammate and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 644 innings to complete the landmark, doing so 20 innings quicker. Former Sri Lanka captain and legendary batter Kumar Sangakkara took 666 innings to complete 28,000 international runs.
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Additionally, Virat Kohli overtook Kumar Sangakkara’s tally of 28,016 runs to become the second-leading run-getter in the history of international cricket, only behind Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 34357 runs in 664 matches.
Following his match-winning 93-run knock in the ODI series against New Zealand, Virat Kohli has aggregated 28,068 runs, including 84 centuries and 146 fifties, at an average of 52.66 in 624 innings. The veteran Indian batter is currently the second-leading run-getter in ODIs with 14650 runs, while he stays at the third spot in the all-time T20I leading run-scorer chart with 4188 runs.
Virat Kohli Chasing Sachin Tendulkar ODI Record
Virat Kohli has shattered multiple records held by Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar in his international career, including the most ODI centuries, the most centuries in a single format, the fastest to reach 10,000 to 14,000 ODI runs, the quickest to complete 27,000 and 28,000 international centuries, and other notable milestones. Currently, Kohli is on his quest to break Tendulkar’s all–time record of 100 international centuries.
However, there is another record held by Tendulkar that Kohli could potentially break. Tendulkar holds the record for the most ODI runs, with 18,426 runs in his 463-match career. Kohli has amassed 14650 runs in 309 matches so far and is currently 3,776 runs short of overtaking Tendulkar’s all-time ODI run record.
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Currently, Sachin Tendulkar is the only batter to score 15,000, 16,000, 17,000, and 18,000 runs in the history of ODI cricket, a feat unmatched by any other player. Only Virat Kohli and Kumar Sangakkara have joined Tendulkar in the 14,000-run ODI club, with Kohli already well past the mark and Sangakkara finishing his career with 14,234 runs, while Tendulkar remains the only player to surpass 15,000 ODI runs.
As Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara have retired, Virat Kohli remains the only active player to have scored 14,000 or more runs in ODI cricket, with his Indian teammate and former captain Rohit Sharma trailing him with 11,542 runs.
Is It Possible for Kohli to Emerge as Leading ODI Run-Scorer?
Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI record of 18,426 runs has remained untouched since he achieved the historic feat during the 2011 ODI World Cup quarterfinal against Australia. The question is whether Virat Kohli can challenge Tendulkar’s all-time ODI record for the most runs and eventually become the leading run-scorer in the format.
Team India has 17 ODI matches remaining to play, including two in the ongoing series against New Zealand, and 15 across the remaining five bilateral series this year. In 2027, the Men in Blue are realistically to play 14-20 matches in the Asia Cup and World Cup, alongside potentially 5-6 matches before the marquee ICC event in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
So in total, India are likely to play around 36–42 ODI matches, including the Asia Cup and World Cup, if the Men in Blue perform extremely well in both tournaments, including the potential of reaching the finals. Assuming that Kohli features in 39 matches out of these 36–42 games, the Indian ace batter needs to maintain an extraordinary level of consistency, averaging 97 runs per match over the next two years, to overtake Tendulkar’s record.
There is a possibility that Kohli could join Tendulkar in the exclusive 16,000-run ODI club in 2026 if he averages around 225 runs per bilateral ODI series across six series, including the ongoing series against New Zealand. If Kohli reaches 16,000 ODI runs this year, he would still need an additional 2,427 runs to surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 18,426 runs, averaging roughly 110–120 runs per match across the hypothetical 20–22 ODIs India could play in 2027, including the World Cup.
It is important to note that Sachin Tendulkar played 463 ODI matches in his 24-year international career, while Virat Kohli has already played 309 matches in his 16-year ODI career, giving him fewer matches and less time, which means he would need to score at a much higher rate than Tendulkar to surpass the 18,426-run record.