The Indian batsman has outscored Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara with 28,068 runs across all formats, but is behind his compatriot Sachin Tendulkar.
India’s Virat Kohli became the second highest run-scorer in all formats of international cricket after his winning knock of 93 in the first One-Day International (ODI) against New Zealand.
Kohli on Sunday overtook Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara (28,016 runs) to become second on the list of all-time international scorers behind fellow Indian Sachin Tendulkar (34,357 runs).
The top-order batsman has scored 28,068 runs in Test, ODI and T20 cricket since making his debut for India in an ODI in Sri Lanka in 2008.
“Looking back at my journey so far, this is nothing short of a dream come true for me,” Kohli said after being named Player of the Match in Vadodara.
“I always knew what I was capable of, but I also knew that I had to work very hard to get to where I am today. God has blessed me with more than I could have asked for. I look back on my journey with a lot of grace and gratitude and feel really proud of it.”
A 91-ball knock in the ODI opener saw India chase the winning target of 301 with four wickets and six balls to spare, taking a 1-0 lead for the third straight match.
However, the in-form Kohli missed out on his 54th ODI century after scoring 50-plus runs for the fifth time in an ODI innings, including his double hundred.
“To be brutally honest, the way I’m playing right now, I’m not thinking about milestones at all,” the former captain said.
Now in his 17th year of international cricket, he continues to reinvent himself. Kohli said he will aim to make the most of his first 20 deliveries after arriving at the first drop.
He said he has tweaked his approach recently to fight back early in the innings and put pressure on the bowlers.
After opener Rohit Sharma was bowled out for 26 in nine overs, Kohli refused to retreat into a defensive shell and instead took the initiative to put New Zealand’s attack on the back burner.
“If the situation is a little bit difficult, you start fighting back now instead of trying to make things work just because your name is on the ball,” he said.
“There’s no point in waiting too long,” he said. “But at the same time, you don’t make crazy shots. You stick to your strengths, but you push yourself so much that you put your opponent at a disadvantage.”
The brave batsman believed that his approach would have been more aggressive had India not been chasing.
“If we were the first batters, we would have hit harder. But in a chase where the total score was decided, we had to adapt to the situation. I wanted to hit the ball more, but experience helps. All I had in mind was to get the team in a position to easily win.”
“That was actually the difference in the game.”
The 37-year-old, nicknamed King Kohli for his prolific run-scoring, currently plays only the ODI format after his fellow stalwart Sharma, 38, retired from T20 and Test cricket.
The future of the two cricketers has been widely discussed and both are likely to be aiming for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
