Birthday Special: Virat Kohli – Epitome of excellence at 31

5th November 1988 marked the birth of an extraordinary batsman who is currently rewriting batting records. Virat Kohli, born on this day, reigns supreme in all three formats of international cricket. His exquisite batsmanship makes his run accumulation wonderful to watch. His focus and intensity while batting turns him into a run-machine whose sole function is to clinch a victory for his side.  On the field, he is most-animated with expressions worthy of viral GIFs.

In just 11 years of international cricket, Kohli has amassed numbers which place him in the all-time greats list. His current international run tally includes more than 21,000 runs. The maverick has struck 69 international centuries thus far which put him third on the all-time list with only Ricky Ponting (71) and Sachin Tendulkar (100) ahead of him. Here’s a brief summary of the extent of King Kohli’s reign.

Beast in Tests

Test cricket is considered to be the real test of batsman’s character and calibre. Despite the deluge of T20 cricket, Test statistics remain sacred for a batsman. Kohli, who first played the longest format in 2011, is currently 47th on the all-time list of most runs but he has already notched up mind-boggling feats.

With his 254 not out against South Africa in the recently concluded Test series, Kohli pocketed the record for most double centuries by an Indian in Test cricket. His tally of seven double tons puts him joint-fifth on the all-time list. Kohli’s 26 centuries place him fourth in the list of most Test hundreds for India behind Sunil Gavaskar (34), Rahul Dravid (36) and Sachin Tendulkar (51).

As captain, Kohli is already India’s most successful in terms of victories. He is currently leading the side in the world-record tally of 11 consecutive home series triumphs. Furthermore, he also holds the records for most runs by an Indian captain, most centuries by an Indian captain and highest individual score by an Indian captain.

Virat Kohli’s most magnificent achievements

ODI Legend

Even before Kohli started dominating bowlers in Tests and T20Is, he had mastered the 50-over format. As of now, he stands only second to Sachin when it comes to most ODI hundreds. Kohli’s mind-boggling tally of 43 ODI centuries is miles ahead of third-placed Ricky Ponting who scored 30 centuries.

Despite having a subdued World Cup in England, Kohli has struck five ODI centuries in 2019 thus far. His 11,520 ODI runs put him ahead of Sourav Ganguly which makes Kohli the second-highest ODI run-getter for India with only Tendulkar ahead of him. The monumental average of 60.31 after accumulating 11K-plus runs places Virat Kohli in a league of his own.

Mister consistent in T20Is

With only 120 deliveries available for 11 possible batsmen, the range of milestones in T20I cricket gets shortened. 30-plus scores are considered to be the primary milestone rather than the usual fifty-plus. But Kohli works on his own scale. India’s number three batsman owns the world record for most fifty-plus scores in T20I cricket. His average is currently 50.00, unmatched by anyone with more than 500 T20I runs except Pakistan’s Babar Azam. Kohli is also in a non-stop race with Rohit Sharma for the record for most runs in T20I cricket despite playing 27 matches less.

Kohli’s 50-plus average across formats makes him the only cricketer in the world to rule all three formats with such authority.

IPL heroics

5,412 runs in 177 IPL games for Royal Challengers Bangalore earn Virat Kohli the distinction of being the highest all-time run-getter of the most lucrative tournament. IPL 2016 was his zenith (thus far). In the watershed season, he amassed 973 runs in 16 matches with as many as four centuries. Despite this gigantic feat, Kohli’s side fell one step short of the championship, something he will like to correct in the coming years.

Fire in the field

From chubby cheeks to lean mean run-machine, Virat Kohli’s transformation is an astounding story. Every coach that he has trained under, vouches for Kohli’s intensity and dedication towards training. The leading batsman of the world has inspired a culture where extraordinary fitness is paramount. This has helped the Indian team to shed their previous image of a poor fielding side. The revolution has produced world-class athletes like Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey and many others for India. If there’s one field which Kohli has influenced the most, then it is fitness. Here’s him talking about it in an exclusive interview with Graham Bensinger.