On Sunday, former India captain Virat Kohli reached an amazing milestone during the Champions Trophy in Dubai. He played his 300th One Day International (ODI) match, making him the seventh Indian cricketer to achieve this feat. Greats like Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni are also part of this exclusive group.
Kohli, who started his ODI career in 2008 against Sri Lanka, has scored an incredible 14,085 runs so far. He boasts an average of 58.20 and a strike rate of 93.41, including 51 centuries and 73 half-centuries, with a personal best of 193 runs in a single match. Interestingly, Kohli’s 100th ODI was in the Champions Trophy 12 years ago, against the West Indies, and he played his 200th match against New Zealand in 2017.
The first cricketer to reach 300 ODIs was Mohammed Azharuddin in 1998 against Australia. Over the years, 21 players from around the world have reached this milestone, with Tendulkar holding the record for the most matches at 463. Chris Gayle, a West Indies legend, was the latest to join the club in 2019.
Here’s a list of Indian cricketers who have played 300 ODIs:
– Sachin Tendulkar (1989-2012) – 463 matches
– MS Dhoni (2004-2019) – 350 matches
– Rahul Dravid (1996-2011) – 344 matches
– Mohammad Azharuddin (1985-2000) – 334 matches
– Sourav Ganguly (1992-2007) – 311 matches
– Yuvraj Singh (2000-2017) – 304 matches
What makes Kohli special is that he is the first player to reach 300 ODIs while also playing 100 Tests and 100 T20Is.
Upcoming Milestones for Kohli
After a challenging start in the Champions Trophy with only 22 runs against Bangladesh, Kohli bounced back spectacularly. He scored an unbeaten 100 runs in a critical match against Pakistan, helping India secure a spot in the semifinals. This was his 51st century overall and his first in the Champions Trophy.
Kohli is now close to breaking another record. With 651 runs in the Champions Trophy over 15 innings, he is just 51 runs away from Shikhar Dhawan’s record of 701 runs, which he achieved in only 10 innings. Kohli currently ranks seventh in the all-time list, where Chris Gayle leads with 791 runs in 17 innings.
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