Virat Kohli creates history, equals Ricky Ponting’s elite record in 1st ODI vs New Zealand

New Delhi: Team India batter Virat Kohli scripted history by equaling Australia’s Ricky Ponting’s elite record in the first ODI against New Zealand. He scored 74 runs in the series opener as the Men in Blue defeated New Zealand by five wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series at Eden Park in Auckland on Wednesday, November 4.

Kohli has scored 1971 runs against New Zealand, equalling Ponting’s record of most ODI runs against the Blackcaps. He needed just one more run to overtake the Australian legend but was dismissed by Jacob Duffy for 74 off 51 balls. Sachin Tendulkar is in third place on the list with 1750 runs, while Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara is fourth with 1,568 runs.

Most ODI runs vs New Zealand
1971 – Virat Kohli
1971 – Ricky Ponting
1750 – Sachin Tendulkar
1568 – Kumar Sangakkara
1519 – Sanath Jayasuriya
1449 – Jacques Kallis

Fastest 50s for Virat Kohli in away ODIs
34 balls vs Australia, Canberra 2016
35 balls vs New Zealand, Auckland 2026
36 balls vs South Africa, Centurion 2018
38 balls vs Sri Lanka, Colombo RPS 2017

He also became the first player in the world to score 13,000 runs in ODIs as a No. 3 batter. Kohli needed just 12 runs in the 1st ODI to reach 13,000 runs as a No. 3 batter and managed to achieve that feat.

Batters with most runs at no.3 in ODIs:
Virat Kohli – 13,000 runs*
Ricky Ponting – 12,662 runs
Kumar Sangakkara – 9,747 runs
Jacques Kallis – 7,774 runs
Kane Williamson – 6,504 runs

More to follow…