Virat Kohli: 49 not out

Virat Kohli (Pic: AFP)

Sure, there may have been a few glitches or misses here and there, edges falling short and wickets tumbling but nothing could come in the way of India's talismanic batsman Virat Kohli against South Africa.

Kohli, who is celebrating his 35th birthday on Sunday, played an innings to savour, an innings full of character and an innings for which he deserves plaudits. He got to the landmark in 119 balls, including 10 fours, at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. It had taken him 277 innings to score 49 hundreds at this level compared to the 438 required by fellow India great Sachin Tendulkar.

"Every opportunity to play for India is a big one, to be able to ton up on my birthday is a stuff of dreams," said Kohli whose century added to his ongoing total of over 26,000 international runs. Kohli's 101 not out was the centrepiece of unbeaten tournament hosts India's 326-5 in their 50 overs.

From his early days, when he led India to a U-19 World Cup victory in 2008 and made his international debut in the same year, Kohli has consistently dominated headlines with his extraordinary run-scoring ability.

Kohli has represented India in 111 Tests, scoring 8,676 runs at an average of 49.29. He has 29 centuries and 29 fifties under his belt, with best score of 254'. He is India's fifth-highest scorer in Tests. His childhood idol Tendulkar is the highest Test run-scorer with 15,921 runs. Notably, Kohli has notched the fourth-highest number of Test centuries for India and is among the top 10 worldwide.

The Delhi-born batter is India's most successful Test captain ever. With 40 wins, 17 losses and 11 draws in 68 games, Kohli boasts of an incredible resume as a captain. Under his captaincy, India earned five successive ICC World Test Championship maces, ending as the top-ranked side of the season for five successive years.

While delving into the raw statistics, it becomes abundantly clear that Kohli might just be the finest ODI batsman ever.

In just 288 ODIs, Kohli has scored 13,525 runs at an average of 58.04, with 48 centuries and 70 tons in 276 innings. His best score is 183. He is the fourth-highest ODI run-getter and second-highest run-getter for India in 50-over format, with Sachin at top with 18,426 runs in 463 matches.

The 'Chase-Master' Kohli in ODIs is a different beast in Blue. In 159 matches, he has scored 7,794 runs while chasing at an average of 65.49, with 27 centuries and 40 fifties.

Also Read: Virat Kohli, the most complete batsman in modern era

During successful run-chases in ODIs, Kohli has scored 5,786 runs at an average of 90.40 in 102 matches, with 23 centuries and 25 fifties in 96 innings. He is also the fastest to achieve milestones of 8,000 to 13,000 ODI runs.

Kohli has led India in 95 ODIs, winning 65, losing 27, one tied and two ending in no results. In T20Is, he has scored 4,008 runs in 115 matches and 107 innings at an average of 52.73, with one century and 37 fifties. His best individual score is 122'. He is the highest run-scorer in T20Is and has most number of 'Man of the Match' (15) and 'Man of the Series' (seven) awards in the format.

Kohli has led India in 60 T20Is, winning 30, losing 16 and two each ending as ties and no results.

Overall in 514 international matches, Kohli has scored 26,209 runs at an average of 54.03, with the best score of 254'. He has scored 78 centuries and 136 centuries in international cricket. He is the fourth-highest run-getter in international cricket and second-highest for India. Tendulkar is the highest run-scorer in international cricket with 34,357 runs in 664 matches.

Kohli is a player that thrives on big stages. He is the only player to have scored 3,000 runs in ICC white-ball events. In 33 Cricket World Cup matches, he has scored 1,472 runs at an average of 54.51, with three centuries and 10 fifties. He is the fourth-highest run-getter in the tournament history, with Sachin at top with 2,278 runs in 45 matches.

Kohli is the highest run-getter in T20 World Cup, In 27 matches and 25 innings, he has scored 1,141 runs at an average of 81.50, with 14 fifties.

A massive stat of Kohli's prowess in T20I batting is that in nine successful run-chases at this tournament, he averages 518 and has seven fifties to his name. He has been dismissed only once in a successful T20 World Cup chase.

Also Read: Down the memory lane!

In ICC Champions Trophy, Kohli has scored 529 runs in 12 innings across 13 matches at an average of 88.16, with best score of 96 and five fifties.

In 73 ICC event matches across 70 innings, Kohli has scored 3,142 runs at an average of 66.85, with three centuries and 29 fifties. He is also the part of Indian team which won the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

With 7,263 runs in 237 matches at an average of 37.24 in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kohli is the highest run-scorer in IPL history. With seven centuries, he holds record of most IPL tons. His tally of 973 runs in 16 matches of IPL 2016, with four centuries and seven fifties at an average of 81.08 is the highest peak attained in T20s by an Indian.