Virat Kohli produced another memorable ODI performance on Sunday, September 27, as India defeated the West Indies by eight wickets in the first match of the three-game series. Kohli remained unbeaten on 139 off just 88 balls as India chased down 296 in 41.4 overs.
Kohli smashed 10 fours and nine sixes during his brilliant innings. He also shared a 151-run second-wicket partnership with captain Shubman Gill, who scored 110 off 108 balls. After Gill was dismissed, Kohli joined Ruturaj Gaikwad and guided India home to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Kohli enters another record book
Kohli’s 139-run knock helped him achieve several major milestones. He became only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to score 15,000 ODI runs. Kohli reached the landmark in 303 innings, making him the fastest player to the mark. Tendulkar needed 376 innings.
The Indian star also scored his 55th ODI century. It was his 13th international hundred against the West Indies, helping him equal Sunil Gavaskar’s record for the most international centuries against the Caribbean side.
Kohli now has 60 centuries in List A cricket. This puts him level with Tendulkar, who also finished his career with 60 List A hundreds.
Another major record came when Kohli became the first batter to score 10 ODI centuries against two different teams. He has 10 hundreds against both Sri Lanka and the West Indies.
The 37-year-old also equalled Tendulkar’s record of 42 international centuries in India. He then went past Tendulkar’s ODI runs record on home soil and became the first player to cross 7,000 runs in home ODIs.
Kohli’s nine sixes also broke Rohit Sharma’s record for the most sixes by an Indian batter against the West Indies in an ODI innings. Rohit had hit eight sixes during his 152-run knock in 2018.
He also became India’s most-capped ODI player against the West Indies, surpassing Mohammad Azharuddin’s tally of 43 matches.
