Virat Kohli gets his 30th Test fifty on 500th international match
With 25,548 runs currently, Virat Kohli went ahead of South African great Jacques Kallis to grab the fifth spot on the list of highest run-getters of all time in international cricket
Star batter Virat Kohli made his 500th outing for India memorable with a remarkable innings in Trinidad. Batting against the West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval, the former Indian skipper notched up his 30th Test fifty and remained unbeaten on 87 at stumps. Besides, scoring half a ton, Kohli also became the fifth-highest run-scorer in international cricket. He leapfrogged former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis to reach the phenomenal feat.
With 25,548 runs currently, Kohli went ahead of the South African great to grab the fifth spot on the list of highest run-getters of all time in international cricket. Kallis scored 25,534 runs in 519 matches played across formats during his tenure. The Indian batter needed 74 runs at the start of the game which he successfully got in the third session of the play on Thursday.
Currently in 500 matches, Virat has scored 25,548 runs at an average of 53.67. He has 75 centuries and 132 half-centuries in 559 innings, with the best score of 254 (in Tests). Legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who has played the most number of international matches – 664, leads the charts with 34,357 runs. The likes of Kumar Sangakkara (28,016 in 594 matches), Ricky Ponting (27,483 runs in 560 games) and Mahela Jayawardene (25,957 runs in 652 games) follow next.
Virat has scored 8642 runs in 111 Tests at an average of 49.38. He has 28 centuries and 30 fifties so far in the longest format, with the best score of 254 and is also the fifth-highest run-scorer in Tests for India.
Virat has played 274 ODIs and scored 12,898 runs at an average of 57.32. He has scored 46 centuries and 65 half-centuries. The veteran batter is the highest-run scorer in the T20ls, having scored 4008 runs in 115 matches at an average of 52.73.
Fifty in the 500th
Kohli on Friday also became the first player to have scored a half-century in his 500th international game. He reached the feat with a cover drive off Jomel Warrican’s bowling.
Overall, the former Indian skipper is now the 10th cricketer in history to have played 500 games in international cricket after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Ricky Ponting, Shahid Afridi and Jacques Kallis.
