Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli scored a brilliant fifty on his return to the Indian team after being rested for the first two games of the series. As a non-opener, Virat currently has the joint-most 50+ scores in the fifty-over format.
Virat Kohli has equalled the massive record held by the former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara. Both Kohli and Sangakkara now have 112 50+ scores in ODI Cricket, while Australian legend Ricky Ponting is placed third on the list.
In the overall list, Virat Kohli ranks third list of the most 50+ scores behind the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara. The former Sri Lankan skipper has six 50+ scores while playing as an opener. In his career, Kohli has opened the batting on a few occasions, but he has only reached the 50-run only once.
Coming into the game in Rajkot, Virat Kohli batted exceeding well against Australia in the final ODI, where he scored 56 off 61 balls before being dismissed by his RCB teammate Glenn Maxwell in the 27th over of the game and the former Indian skipper will have the opportunity to break numerous record in the forthcoming ODI World Cup in India.
Virat Kohli now has 47 tons and 66 half-centuries compared to Sangakkara’s 118, which comprised 25 centuries and 93 fifties. Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar has 96 half-centuries and 49 centuries to his name in ODI Cricket of the game.
The 34-year-old will have the opportunity to surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most hundreds in the 50-over format of the game. Kohli took the responsibility on his shoulders after Tendulkar bid adieu to the game and took the legacy of the master blaster ahead.
Kohli has every chance of going past the centuries tally of Sachin Tendulkar in 2023. If he is at his fluent best going into the ODI World Cup, there is no reason why he can’t score three ODI centuries in the marquee event and drag his tally to 50.
Tendulkar is the all-time leading run-getter in ODIs, having amassed 18,426 runs in 463 matches at an average of 44.83. Kohli, who still might have a few years of cricket left in him, has so far notched up 13083 runs at an average of 57.4, and the Indian batting maestro is expected to play a vital role for the Indian team in the ODI World Cup in the home soil.