India’s Virat Kohli (Photo: Francois Nel/Getty Images) As Virat Kohli returns to the ODI series against Australia, statisticians are bracing for potential record-breaking performances from one of cricket’s most successful batsmen.Kohli’s comeback begins with the first ODI in Perth, his first appearance since India won the ICC Champions Trophy. During the Champions Trophy, he scored 218 runs in five matches, including a century against Pakistan and 84 runs against Australia in the semi-final.
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The 36-year-old Indian batsman is on the verge of several milestone achievements in ODI and limited-overs cricket.Kohli needs just 54 runs to become the second highest ODI run-scorer of all time. His current record shows 14,181 runs in 302 ODIs from 290 innings, at an average of 57.88, including 51 centuries and 74 fifties. This feat would surpass Kumar Sangakkara’s 14,234 runs in 404 matches.In limited-overs cricket, Kohli is approaching another major milestone. He needs 68 runs to overtake Sachin Tendulkar’s total of 18,436 runs. Kohli currently has amassed 18,369 runs which combines his 14,181 ODI runs and 4,188 T20I runs.Another century would give Kohli the record for most centuries in a single format. He currently shares this record with Sachin Tendulkar, both having 51 centuries – Kohli in ODIs and Tendulkar in Tests.Additionally, his next century would mark his 30th in overseas conditions, making him the Asian batter with the most centuries outside Asia. This would surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 29 overseas centuries.This Australian tour will also start Kohli’s preparations for the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup.
