Indian cricket superstar Virat Kohli is very close to achieving a major historic achievement in the second ODI of the series against New Zealand in Rajkot. After becoming the second batsman to score the most runs in international cricket in the first match played in Vadodara, now Kohli’s eyes are set on leaving behind Australian legend Ricky Ponting in List-A cricket.
List-A cricket includes combined records in ODIs and domestic ODIs and Kohli needs just 63 runs to break this mega record. At present there is a gap of only 63 runs between Kohli and Ponting.
If we compare the statistics, Virat Kohli’s batting consistency looks much better than Ricky Ponting. Kohli has so far scored 16,300 runs in 332 innings of 345 List-A matches, in which he has an average of 57.80 and has 58 centuries in his name. In contrast, Ricky Ponting scored 16,363 runs in 445 innings of 456 matches at an average of 41.74, with 34 centuries. Before breaking Ponting’s record, Kohli will go past West Indies’ Gordon Greenidge (16,349 runs), after which his next big target will be the great Vivian Richards’ figure of 16,995 runs.
This excellent form of Kohli is a matter of relief for the Indian team, because the team is currently struggling with injuries to its players. Rishabh Pant was already out and now Washington Sundar is also out of the series due to injury. The selectors have included Ayush Badoni in place of Sundar, but coach Gautam Gambhir may give priority to the all-rounder and give a chance to Nitish Kumar Reddy in the playing eleven. Even though Kohli missed his 54th century in the Vadodara ODI, his innings of 93 runs in 91 balls played an important role in India’s victory.
The Indian team will aim to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series by winning this match on Wednesday. After winning the first match by four wickets, captain Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma will once again have their eyes on Kohli’s bat. The New Zealand team will also try to make a comeback under the captaincy of Michael Bracewell, but in the conditions of Rajkot, the Indian batsmen seem to have the upper hand. This match will be no less than a festival for cricket fans, because they want to see their favorite ‘King Kohli’ destroying the records of a great player like Ricky Ponting.