Kohli would have been 162* but for a washout in Bristol
While Virat Kohli is being deified like Sachin Tendulkar, his workload should not go unnoticed. Statistically, Kohli has surpassed his hero’s record of most centuries while chasing in less than half the matches.
But what the India captain has achieved can’t be measured purely in runs, records or the number of matches he has helped India win. The actual game time spent by him is mindboggling.
Among Indians, he is third after Sachin Tendulkar (185) and Mohammed Azharuddin (126) on the list of most consecutive ODIs with 102 matches. This was between August 25, 2010 and March 5, 2014. His streak snapped at 102 because the 103rd match, against England in Bristol on August 25, 2014, had been washed out. Had that not happened, Kohli would have been ‘162 not out’ in just over seven years before this series. Tendulkar’s record was created over eight years, Azhar’s came in just less than six.
Now add to this the Tests, T20Is and the IPL matches. Tendulkar didn’t play IPL till the 19th year of his career. Kohli played his first IPL match four months before his international debut.
Viewed from this perspective, Kohli has done a phenomenal job of not only enduring the physical grind but also thriving in the pressure of delivering almost every match. Among contemporary batsmen, only MS Dhoni has more unbeaten knocks (43) than Kohli (26) while chasing but that’s also because he bats lower down.
Among others, only Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have had long careers but have been either injured or dropped quite a few times. Rohit still holds out hope with 18 unbeaten knocks out of 99 innings at an average of 40.64, but it’s still less than Kohli’s who averages 67.10 in 106 innings. Shikhar Dhawan averages 44.89 batting second but he has remained unbeaten four times in 52 innings.
The responsibility of being Virat Kohli is huge. The selfless person he is though, Kohli will never allow himself to be bogged down by any challenge.
But maybe those around him could step up to the plate more often so that Kohli could concentrate on leading the team better in this marquee series.
AMONG INDIANS, HE IS THIRD AFTER SACHIN (185) AND AZHAR (126) ON THE LIST OF MOST CONSECUTIVE ODIS.