India’s Virat Kohli becomes second-highest run-scorer in international cricket

by Devesh Jaganath

image India’s Virat Kohli becomes second-highest run-scorer in international cricket
Widely considered the greatest batsman of this generation, India’s Virat Kohli has added yet another remarkable record to his incredible collection. Kohli became the second-highest run-scorer across all formats of international cricket on Sunday, when he helped the Men in Blue to a four-wicket victory over New Zealand in Vadodara.

King Kohli moves to second place in all-time run-scorer list

The Indian cricket team got 2026 off to a winning start by securing a four-wicket victory over New Zealand and confirming our cricket predictions in their first match of the year at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara on Sunday afternoon. 

Batting first, the Black Caps posted a formidable total of 300/8 in their 50 overs, with Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls producing a solid opening stand of 117, while Daryl Mitchell blasted 84 runs from just 71 deliveries batting at number four. 

However, the Men in Blue got to the target with an over to spare, marking the 20th time they have successfully chased down a total of 300+, and once again, it was the incredible Virat Kohli, who played a key role in getting his side to victory. 

Kohli smashed 93 runs off 91 deliveries, including eight fours and a six. It was the 77th time that the former Indian skipper surpassed the half-century mark in ODIs, while he also has a whopping 53 centuries to his name in the 50-over format. 

With that knock, the 37-year-old notched up another incredible record, surpassing Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara (28,016) in the list of leading run-scorers across all formats. Kohli now has 28,068 international runs, only behind the legendary Sachin Tendulkar on 34,357. Speaking after the match, he said: 

“My journey has been nothing short of a dream-come-true for me. I look at my journey with grace and gratitude. With the way I am playing at the moment, I am not looking at milestones. Only thing in my mind was to help the team win.”

Kohli was denied his 54th ODI century by Kyle Jamieson, but his form of late has been nothing short of spectacular, and all eyes will be on King Kohli when the series heads to Rajkot for the second match later this afternoon. 

India probable lineup for second ODI against Black Caps

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India will look to wrap up the three-match series against New Zealand in Rajkot later today, but Gautam Gambhir will be forced to make a few personnel changes to the side that won the first ODI in Vadodara due to injury. 

The latest to be ruled out is Washington Sundar, who sustained a side strain over the weekend and has been excluded for the remainder of the series, with rising star Ayush Badoni of Delhi being brought into the squad in his maiden call-up. 

Rishabh Pant also pulled out of the team ahead of the first ODI after picking up an injury during training, and he was replaced by Dhruv Jurel. While both Jurel and Badoni will be hoping to make the starting 11, Nitish Kumar Reddy is expected to get the nod, given his all-round ability. 

The final change that is anticipated for the Men in Blue in Rajkot is the return of Arshdeep Singh, potentially for Harshit Rana. Rotation over the coming weeks will be key for India’s preparation in the lead-up to their T20 World Cup title defence next month. 

India probable XI for second ODI 

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Kumar Reddy, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna