Virat Kohli, who scored 74 runs in the first ODI against New Zealand, is now close to breaking another big record. As soon as he scores 50 runs in the second ODI, he can leave behind Babar Azam and Ricky Ponting.
Sports News: Indian team's star batsman Virat Kohli will have a chance to create new history in the second ODI against New Zealand. In the first match played in Auckland, Kohli played a brilliant inning of 74 runs on 51 balls. With this, he equaled Babar Azam and Ricky Ponting in terms of scoring more than 50 runs the maximum number of times against New Zealand. Now he can reach the first position in this list by scoring another half-century.
Virat Kohli just one fifty away from breaking Babar Azam's record
A five-match ODI series is being played between India and New Zealand. In the first match, the Indian team had won by five wickets. In this match, Virat Kohli once again showed with his batting how important a player he is in ODI cricket. Kohli made many records in his name during his innings of 74 runs. One special achievement among these is related to scoring the highest fifty plus score against New Zealand.
As of now, Pakistan's Babar Azam, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting and Virat Kohli are jointly at the first position. All three batsmen have scored 50 or more runs 27-27 times in international cricket against New Zealand. If Kohli scores 50 runs in the second ODI to be held on November 7, his figure will increase to 28. With this, he will become the only number one batsman in this record, leaving behind Babar and Ponting.
How have Kohli's figures been against New Zealand?
Virat Kohli's record against New Zealand has been quite good. He has played 61 matches against the Kiwi team including Test, ODI and T20 International. In 74 innings of these matches, he has scored 3,241 runs at an average of 47.66. During this period, he has scored 10 centuries and 17 half-centuries. That means he has crossed the 50-run mark a total of 27 times.
On the other hand, Babar Azam has scored 27 fifty plus scores in 63 international innings against New Zealand. These include five centuries and 22 half-centuries. Ricky Ponting also scored 50 or more runs 27 times in 77 innings against New Zealand. England's Joe Root is next in the list with 26 fifty plus innings. India's Sachin Tendulkar has played 25 such innings and South Africa's Jacques Kallis has played 24 such innings.
Kohli has also equaled Ponting in ODI
If we talk only about ODI cricket against New Zealand, then Virat Kohli has reached another special milestone. After the inning of 74 runs played in Auckland, Kohli has scored 18 fifty plus scores in ODI against New Zealand. In this matter he has equaled Ricky Ponting. Kohli has scored seven centuries and 11 half-centuries in ODI cricket against New Zealand. Now he has a chance to leave Ponting behind.
The special thing about this record is that by scoring a half-century in the second ODI, Kohli can achieve two achievements simultaneously. He will reach the first position in terms of scoring 50 plus scores in all international formats against New Zealand and will also overtake Ponting in ODIs.
Kohli completed 13 thousand runs in the first ODI
In the first ODI against New Zealand, Virat Kohli had completed 13 thousand runs while batting at number three. He has become the first batsman in ODI history to score 13 thousand runs at number three position. Earlier, the record of scoring most runs at this venue was in the name of Ricky Ponting. He had scored 12,662 runs.
Kohli played an inning of 74 runs in 51 balls in Auckland, which included 13 fours and a six. In this match, he also broke Sachin Tendulkar's record of scoring most runs while chasing the target in ODI. Kohli now has 8,741 runs while chasing, while Sachin had scored 8,720 runs.
Kohli close to another record of Sachin Tendulkar
Virat Kohli also has 89 century partnerships in his name in ODI cricket. In this matter he is second after Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin was part of partnerships of 100 or more runs 99 times in his ODI career. Kohli is not far away from this record either. However, for this he will have to form many big partnerships with his fellow batsmen.