Stats: Virat Kohli breaks yet another Sachin Tendulkar record, gets closer to eclipsing Ricky Ponting

India’s batting maestro Virat Kohli has added another monumental chapter to his legendary career during the second ODI against New Zealand on January 14, etching his name higher in cricket’s record books with yet another historic achievement. 

In the second match of the ongoing three-match series, the New Delhi-born edged past all-time great Sachin Tendulkar to become India’s highest run-scorer against New Zealand in the format. He went past Tendulkar’s long-standing total with the very first shot he played in the game, firmly establishing himself at the top of this unique batting chart for India in 50-over cricket against the Black Caps. 

This milestone puts Kohli in an elite international list, now only sitting behind former Australia international Ricky Ponting among all players for most ODI runs against New Zealand. He needs just 198 more runs against the BlackCaps to break past Ponting’s tally, who has 1971 runs against the opposition across 51 matches.

Most individual runs in ODIs vs NZ

Kohli’s record-breaking run has not stopped here. Earlier in the series, during the first ODI, he also became the fastest batter in history to reach 28,000 international runs, reaching the coveted landmark in just 624 innings, quicker than Tendulkar’s 644-inning record. In the process, he overtook Kumar Sangakkara to become the second-highest run-scorer across all formats in international cricket, with only Sachin ahead of him in the overall list.

Speaking after one of his recent match-winning knocks, Kohli reflected on his journey. The 37-year-old said that at this stage of his career, he does not play for the milestones, even though he is grateful for the journey. 

“If I look back at my whole journey then it is nothing short of a dream come true for me. If I am being brutally honest, the way I’m playing right now, I’m not thinking about milestones at all,” said Kohli after the first ODI in Vadodara. 

His prolific run of form has also seen him reclaim the No. 1 spot in the ICC ODI batting rankings, after a gap of three long years, underlining his sustained excellence even deep into his career.