- Monday, March 10, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Not too long ago, Virat Kohli was in the news for not hitting his bat’s sweet spot as frequently as he and his countless fans would have expected. But things have changed since the Asia Cup in the UAE as the ace batter hit back form. He slammed a century in the T20 format against Australia besides three fifties in his last seven innings that have taken him to the top of the list of India batters in terms of hitting fifty-plus knocks.
The 33-year-old now has 34 knocks of 50 or more, two more than the next best, Rohit Sharma.
But en route his match-winning 63 off 48 against Australia in Hyderabad on Sunday (25), Kohli achieved one major feat. He eclipsed Rahul Dravid, currently India’s head coach, to become the second-highest run-getter in international cricket. At the end of the match, Kohli had plundered 24,078 runs in 471 matches. Dravid has 24,064 runs in 404 matches.
The first boy in the list remained the Indian maestro, Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 34,357 runs in 664 outings. There were four other batters who still remained ahead of Kohli and they are Kumara Sangakkara (Sti Lanka), Ricky Ponting (Australia), Mahela Jayawardena (Sri Lanka), and Jacques Kallis (South Africa).
Also the fifty in Hyderabad was Kohli’s eighth against Australia in the format, the most by any batter against a single team in the format.
Speaking to host broadcaster Star Sports after the match, the former India captain said, “I’m happy with my contribution to the team. I took a break, went back to the nets, worked hard on my fitness and I think it’s coming off well. I want to keep contributing and doing my best for the team.”
India will now play a three-match T20 international series against South Africa at home before heading to Australia for the T20 World Cup.
