Virat Kohli Records: Whenever Indian cricket team's legendary batsman Virat Kohli comes on the field, some record or the other gets registered in his name. Now during the third ODI match against New Zealand, Kohli has made another record. Even though this match was canceled due to rain, as soon as the toss took place, a big record was registered in Kohli's name. Kohli has now left Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind in terms of playing most ODI matches on New Zealand soil and has made his place in Sachin Tendulkar's list.
Virat Kohli left Dhoni behind
During the third ODI match against New Zealand, Virat Kohli completed his 16th ODI match on Kiwi soil. With this, he overtook former captain MS Dhoni, who had played a total of 15 ODI matches on New Zealand soil in his entire international career. Now Virat Kohli has come very close to Rohit Sharma in this matter.
Virat Kohli and Captain Shubman Gill during Post-Match Handshakes ❤️🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/OO2YFjgzIl
— Manmohan (@GarhManmohan) November 10, 2026
Indian legend who played most ODIs in New Zealand
Virat Kohli has now joined the special list of those great Indian players who have played the most ODI matches in New Zealand. Sachin Tendulkar and former fast bowler Javagal Srinath jointly top this list, who have played the maximum number of 22-22 ODI matches on New Zealand soil. After him, former captain Mohammad Azharuddin is at third position with 19 matches. Whereas Rohit Sharma is just one step ahead of Virat with 17 matches. Now, by playing his 16th match on this tour of New Zealand, Kohli has also made a strong place for himself in this special club of greats.
Virat Kohli's explosive bat on New Zealand soil
Virat Kohli has not only played matches in New Zealand, but has also taken a toll on the Kiwi bowlers with his bat. Kohli has scored a total of 677 runs in the innings of 16 ODI matches on the fast and bouncy pitches of New Zealand. During this period, his batting average has been 48.35, while he has scored runs at a stormy strike rate of around 95.35. His brilliant journey also includes 1 century and 5 half-centuries on New Zealand soil.
Played a magical inning of 123 runs in Napier
King Kohli's best score on New Zealand soil is 123 runs, which he made at Napier ground in January 2014. In this match, the host team had set a challenging target of 293 runs for India to win. While chasing the target, Kohli scored 123 runs in just 111 balls with the help of 7 brilliant fours and 2 sixes. However, even after this century by Kohli, the Indian team missed the target and Team India had to lose the match by 24 runs.
King Kohli's reign on foreign soil
Batting on New Zealand pitches is never easy. The strong winds and swinging balls there make even the world's greatest batsmen sweat. Going to New Zealand in such difficult conditions and playing 16 ODI matches and scoring runs at an average of 48.35 is no mean feat. This record shows how brilliant Virat Kohli's batting technique is, how amazing his fitness is and how well he knows how to score runs on difficult pitches of any country. This is the reason why he is called the King of Cricket.
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