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Kohli Rewrites Records in India’s ODI Win

  • By Thetripurapost Desk, New Delhi
  • Jan 12, 2026
  • 594

Virat Kohli’s commanding knock of 93 anchored India’s emphatic four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the first ODI at Vadodara on Sunday, as the hosts successfully chased a challenging target of 301. The win marked India’s 20th successful chase of a 300-plus total in One-Day Internationals, further underlining their dominance in high-pressure run chases.

Kohli’s innings was not just decisive but historic. During his knock, he became the fastest batter in international cricket to reach 28,000 runs, achieving the milestone in just 624 innings—surpassing Sachin Tendulkar, who had taken 644 innings. He also climbed to second place on the list of all-time international run-scorers, overtaking Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara (28,016). Kohli now has 28,068 international runs, with Tendulkar still leading the chart at 34,357.

The former India captain has been in imperious form in the 50-over format. His 93 against New Zealand marked his fifth consecutive ODI innings of 50-plus scores—an achievement he has now accomplished for the fifth time in his career, the most by any player. South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, and Pakistan’s Babar Azam have managed this feat only twice each.

Kohli’s recent consistency comes after a brief lean patch against Australia in October, where he failed to score in the first two ODIs before registering a half-century in the third. He then followed it up with two centuries and a fifty against South Africa, continuing the streak with another substantial innings against New Zealand.

At 37 years and 67 days, Kohli also became the oldest Indian batter to be dismissed in the nervous nineties in ODIs, eclipsing Sunil Gavaskar’s long-standing record. This was the ninth occasion Kohli has been dismissed between 90 and 99 in the format, including one dismissal on 99 against the West Indies.

India completed the chase in 49 overs, losing six wickets. It was the first time in 16 years that India successfully chased a 300-plus total against New Zealand, the previous instance being in 2010 at Bengaluru, when Yusuf Pathan scored a century in a 316-run chase.

Rohit Sharma also etched his name into the record books despite a modest score of 26. With two sixes in his innings, the Indian skipper became the most prolific six-hitter while opening the batting in ODIs, surpassing West Indies legend Chris Gayle’s tally of 328. Rohit now has 329 sixes as an ODI opener.

Rohit also holds the record for the most sixes in ODIs overall (357), is India’s leading six-hitter in T20 Internationals (205), and ranks third among Indian batters in Tests with 88 sixes. Across all three formats combined, he leads the global chart with an astonishing 648 sixes.

Despite New Zealand’s strong start—including a rare 100-run opening partnership against India on Indian soil after 27 years—the visitors fell short. Notably, New Zealand had entered the match on a nine-match ODI winning streak since losing the Champions Trophy 2025 final, their previous defeat also coming against India.

India’s victory extended their dominance over New Zealand in the format, marking their eighth consecutive ODI win against the Black Caps and reinforcing their formidable home record. India have not lost an ODI to New Zealand at home since 2017, further cementing their supremacy in bilateral encounters.