Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], January 7 (ANI): Indian batting icon Virat Kohli arrived in Vadodara to a massive fan craze ahead of the first ODI against New Zealand starting from January 11 onwards.
Virat arrived in Vadodara with a massive amount of fans chanting ‘Kohli, Kohli’ and cheering him, reaching out for handshakes, pictures as he made his way to his car.
The 37-year-old is arriving after a fine two-game Vijay Hazare Trophy stint, scoring 131 against Andhra Pradesh and 77 against Gujarat, looking in sublime touch in both knocks.
The first image in 2025 for Virat and his fans was him helplessly nicking an outside off-stump delivery by Scott Boland to Steve Smith in slips as he concluded a disastrous Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), slapping his thigh and cursing himself for time and again falling to the ‘corridor of uncertainty’ again and again. But as the year comes down to a close, Virat is in the midst of a lethal limited-overs purple patch, averaging 146 in six matches with three centuries and fifties since two successive ducks in Australia started his ODI return on a sour note.
Now he looks to carry forward that form against NZ in three ODIs, with the first one set to take place on Sunday at Vadodara.
The superstar batter ended the 2025 as the leading ODI run-getter for India, making 651 runs in 13 matches and innings at an average of 65.10, with three centuries and four fifties, with a best score of 135 and a SR of over 96.
During the ICC Champions Trophy last year, Virat became the first-ever cricketer to score 1,000 runs across all ICC event knockouts, with 1,024 runs in 22 matches and 24 innings at an average of 51.20, with a century and nine fifties and a best score of 117. He also is the only player to have 10 fifty-plus scores in ICC knockouts, as Virat won his second ICC CT title, scoring 218 runs in five matches at an average of 54.50, with an unbeaten century against Pakistan and 84 against Australia in the semis, winning ‘Player of the Match’ for both. He is also the only cricketer to have a 50-plus average in three CT tournaments, with 58.66 in the 2013 edition, 129.00 in the 2017 edition and 54.40 in this year’s edition.
He also overtook Shikhar Dhawan (701 runs in 10 matches) to become India’s highest CT run-getter and overall second, with 747 runs in 18 matches at an average of 74.70, with a century and six fifties in 17 innings.
Last year saw Virat complete the white-ball cricket by finally ending the 18-year wait for the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), emerging as their third-highest run-getter with 657 runs in 15 outings with eight fifties. During the IPL, he broke several records, such as becoming the first-ever player to complete 9,000 runs and 300 sixes with a single franchise. He also became the first-ever player in IPL history to have 500-plus run seasons on eight different occasions.
With a Cricket World Cup, two Champions Trophy titles, a T20 World Cup and finally the IPL, Virat had conquered everything on the highest level in limited-overs cricket, all while doing things unapologetically his way and breathing loyalty for the Red and Gold franchise, who had shown faith in him as a U19 World Cup-winning captain back in 2008, when Virat was more raw and was far from the much more polished, disciplined and elite-level athlete he has evolved into with his hard work, consistency and hunger.
Virat also became the third batter to complete 14,000 ODI runs and eventually became the format’s second-highest run-getter of all time, with 14,557 runs in 308 matches and 296 innings at an average of 58.46, with 53 centuries and 76 fifties, and a best score of 183.
Even though Virat became a one-format-only player, his consistency could not stop him from toppling Australian legend Ricky Ponting (27,483 runs in 560 matches) to become the third-highest run-getter in international cricket. In 556 international cricket matches, he has scored 27,975 runs in 623 innings at an average of 52.58, with 84 centuries and 145 fifties to his name and a best score of 254*.- Most centuries in a single format by a batter:
After hitting his first century of the South Africa series, a blistering 120-ball 135 at Ranchi, Virat topped Sachin Tendulkar’s 51 Test centuries to have 52 ODI tons, the most by a batter in a single format of international cricket. With the frequency of ODIs in the modern era, this record might never get broken.
Last year, Virat also overcame Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 18,436 runs (18.426 ODI runs and 10 runs in a single T20I) to become the leading run-getter in limited-overs international cricket, with 14,557 runs in ODIs and 4,188 runs in T20Is, combining to 18,745 runs in 433 matches and 413 innings at an average of 55.95, with 54 centuries and 114 fifties. (ANI)
