Mumbai: Regarding run chases, one can be sure Virat Kohli is leading. His outstanding Champions Trophy performance—a century (100*) against Pakistan and an 84-run innings against Australia—has helped to revive him as one of the top chasers in cricket.
Kohli is now focussing on setting another record in the final match against New Zealand at Dubai International Stadium on March 9. Should he score 46 runs, he will surpass Chris Gayle of the West Indies in the all-time highest run-scorers list for the Championship Trophy.
While Kohli is at 746—already the most by any Indian batting in the history of the event—Gayle has amassed 791 runs in 17 games. For Kohli, this last is especially important since he has previously exceeded 8,000 international runs when chasing, thereby confirming his reputation as a run machine in under-pressure conditions.
Having registered 336 catches thus far, he has also emerged as the Indian cricket player with the most catches in international games. Kohli’s supremacy transcends simple statistics since his performance in ICC events is equally outstanding.
More than any other player, his half-century against Australia represented the 24th time he has broken the 50-run mark in an ICC event. Still another record-breaking achievement was his seventh 50-plus score in the Champions Trophy.
His exceptional effort against Australia won him the “Player of the Match” trophy, which marks his 15th such honour in ICC events—the highest among all the players. Kohli’s path in international cricket is about his dogged search of records as much as his hitting ability.
Comments are closed.