Legendary Indian cricketer Virat Kohli will returning to action in Indian colours with the ODI series against West Indies. He will have the opportunity to make history in the opening ODI of the three-match series.
The second-highest run scorer in men’s ODIs, Kohli, would have the opportunity to become the second player in history to reach 15,000 runs in ODIs behind the great Sachin Tendulkar if he scores at least 59 runs in the series opener. Currently, Kohli has amassed 14,941 runs in 302 innings in 314 ODIs. From 1989 to 2012, Tendulkar concluded his international career with 18,426 runs in 463 games for India, making him the best run scorer in ODIs.
Batters With Most Runs In ODIs
Sachin Tendulkar: 18426 runs in 463 matches
Virat Kohli: 14941 runs in 314 matches
Kumar Sangakkara: 14234 runs in 404 matches
Ricky Ponting: 13704 runs in 375 matches
Sanath Jayasuriya: 13430 runs in 445 matches
In his 43 ODI matches against the West Indies thus far, Kohli has amassed 2,261 runs. He leads the list of batters who have scored the most runs against the Men in Maroon. However, he will also reach 4,000 runs in international cricket (all forms combined) against the West Indies if he scores 150 runs in the series opener.
He has now scored 3,850 runs against the Caribbean side in 75 innings over 73 games. Jacques Kallis is the only player in the world who has scored over 4,000 runs against the West Indies to date.
Kohli has the opportunity to shatter the record for the most ODI runs scored in home games in the opening ODI. In 130 ODIs played in India thus far, he has amassed 6,867 runs. Tendulkar holds the world record for the most runs scored in home ODIs. Tendulkar scored 6,976 runs in playing 164 home games for India throughout the course of his two-decade ODI career.
If Kohli scores 133 runs, he would become the first player in history to reach 7,000 ODI runs in home games. He needs 110 runs to surpass Tendulkar’s total. Kohli’s presence in India’s starting XI on Sunday will also make him India’s most-capped player in ODIs versus West Indies. He is currently tied with Mohammad Azharuddin, who faced the two-time World Cup winners in 43 one-day matches.