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VADODARA: India’s talismanic batter Virat Kohli on Sunday added another feather to his cap after shattering Sachin Tendulkar’s record to reach 28,000 runs in international cricket during the ODI series opener against New Zealand.
The right-hander recorded the feat in 624 innings, surpassing Tendulkar’s record of 644 innings and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakara’s (666) innings.
In doing so, he also overtook Sangakara’s tally of 28,016 runs in international cricket and now trails only Tendulkar’s 34,357 runs.
Before coming into the fixture, Kohli required 25 runs to reach the milestone, and he did it in style, hitting a four during the 12th over of the game.
Later on, he went past Sanagakara on the last ball of the 18th over with a single off Michael Bracewell’s bowling.
624 innings* = Virat Kohli*
644 innings – Sachin Tendulkar
666 innings – Kumar Sangakkara
Put into bat first, New Zealand piled up 300-8 at the end of their 50 overs with Daryll Mitchell top-scoring with 84.
In reply, India started strongly with Rohit Sharma and returning Shubman Gill stitching a 39-run partnership.
After Rohit’s dismissal for 26, Kohli came to the fore and steadied India’s ship with a monumental partnership of 118 with Gill.
Gill made 56 from 71 balls while Virat Kohli continued to dominate until the first ball of the 39th over.
The right-handed batter was caught after nearly missing his 54th ODI century. He hit eight fours and a six on his way to 93 from 91 deliveries.
Eventually, India cruised to a four-wicket win over the BlackCaps in the last over, with KL Rahul remaining unbeaten on 29.
