NEW DELHI: India’s star batter Virat Kohli etched his name deeper into cricket history on Sunday by becoming the fastest player to score 28,000 runs in international cricket during the opening One-Day International against New Zealand.
Kohli reached the milestone in just 624 innings, surpassing the long-standing record of Sachin Tendulkar, who had achieved the feat in 644 innings. Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara stands third on the list, having taken 666 innings to reach the mark.
With this achievement, Kohli also moved past Sangakkara’s aggregate of 28,016 international runs and now trails only Tendulkar’s career tally of 34,357 runs.
Needing 25 runs at the start of the match to reach the landmark, Kohli brought it up with a boundary in the 12th over and later crossed Sangakkara’s total with a single off Michael Bracewell in the 18th over.
Set a target of 301, India began their chase steadily after New Zealand posted 300 for 8, with Daryll Mitchell top-scoring with 84. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill added 39 runs for the opening stand before Rohit was dismissed for 26.
Kohli then anchored the innings, sharing a crucial 118-run partnership with Gill, who scored 56 off 71 balls. Kohli was eventually dismissed for 93 off 91 deliveries, hitting eight fours and a six.
India completed the chase in a tense finish, sealing a four-wicket victory in the final over, with KL Rahul remaining unbeaten on 29.