Virat Kohli has overtaken Sachin Tendulkar with most runs in overseas conditions for India and he is only slightly behind Kumar Sangakkara for most runs in overseas ODIs.
The captaincy may have gone from Virat Kohli. He may have not hit a century in any format for two years. But, he still continues to create records. During the first ODI against South Africa in Paarl, Virat Kohli continued to show that he is one of the greatest batsmen currently in the modern era. Kohli shared a partnership of 92 with Shikhar Dhawan as the duo made good progress. Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma smashed centuries to share a partnership of 204 to boost South Africa to a big score.
Dhawan hit 79 and Virat Kohli notched up yet another fifty. When Kohli reached his fifty, there was hope that he would end his century drought. However, when Dhawan fell, Kohli followed suit immediately with 51 off 63 balls. His dismissal opened the floodgates as India did not stitch partnerships in the middle order. India lost by 31 runs but Kohli created a new record.
His knock of 51 took him past Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting for most ODI runs in overseas conditions. Kohli currently has 5108 runs, which is better than Ponting’s 5090 and Tendulkar’s 5065. The former India cricket team captain is now only behind Kumar Sangakkara for most runs in overseas conditions.
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Virat Kohli has now scored more runs than Sachin Tendulkar in overseas conditions and is the leading Indian batter. The right-hander is the only individual to hit 20 centuries in overseas conditions. Among the top batters in overseas conditions, MS Dhoni, Sir Viv Richards, AB de Villiers, Joe Root, Michael Hussey, and Michael Bevan are the only players with an average of 50.
Player | Matches | Runs | Average | Centuries |
Kumar Sangakkara | 149 | 5518 | 43.10 | 10 |
Virat Kohli | 108 | 5108 | 58.04 | 20 |
Ricky Ponting | 132 | 5090 | 45.04 | 10 |
Sachin Tendulkar | 147 | 5065 | 37.24 | 12 |
MS Dhoni | 145 | 4520 | 50.78 | 1 |
When one looks at the contributions of the batsmen in SENA-W countries, Virat Kohli is right up there. He has the most runs in South Africa, England, Australia, New Zealand, and West Indies in this entire 11-year period. During the knock in Paarl, he surpassed Kumar Sangakkara for most runs in these places.
Player | Matches | Runs | Average | Centuries |
Virat Kohli | 73 | 3487 | 56.24 | 12 |
Kumar Sangakkara | 99 | 3484 | 40.98 | 5 |
Mahela Jayawardene | 104 | 2905 | 31.92 | 4 |
Sir Vivian Richards | 58 | 2899 | 63.02 | 7 |
Sachin Tendulkar | 88 | 2802 | 33.74 | 4 |
The consistency with which Kohli has scored in every single country is simply mind-boggling. In Australia, he averages 51 while in England, his average is 54. It is in South Africa where he dominates with a staggering average of 84. Even in the West Indies, his batting average is close to 60.
There is hope that Virat Kohli might eventually break the century drought in the next couple of matches. Once that happens, a billion Indian fans will heave a big sigh of relief. The century drought has been prolonged now, but Kohli still averages close to 50 in ODIs. It is near 70 in T20Is respectively