World Cup: Virat Kohli becomes first batter with this milestone
Virat Kohli smashed a fine half-century against Australia in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The 35-year-old helped India recover from 81/3 after they were put in to bat. Despite missing his century, Kohli is now the first-ever player with five consecutive fifty-plus scores in multiple World Cup editions. Here are the key stats.
A look at his knock
Kohli came to the middle after India lost opener Shubman Gill (30/1). Skipper Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer also departed before India touched the 100-run mark. Kohli then paired up with Rahul and survived a tough middle-over phase where Australia dominated with tight lines. The former eventually fell for 54 off 63 balls (4 fours). Pat Cummins ended his bid for a historic ton.
Kohli enters record books
As mentioned, Kohli has become the first player with five successive fifty-plus scores in multiple World Cup editions. His last five scores read 54, 117, 51, 101*, and 88. Kohli also recorded five such scores in the 2019 World Cup. Notably, Australia's Steven Smith is the only other batter with five consecutive fifty-plus scores in a World Cup edition (2019).
Kohli finishes with 765 runs
Kohli finished his 2023 World Cup campaign on a high. He racked up 765 runs from 11 matches at an incredible average of 95.62. The tally includes as many as nine fifty-plus scores (three tons). In the semi-final, Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar's record for scoring the most runs in a World Cup edition. The former also became the first player with 50 ODI tons.
Another record for Kohli
Kohli scripted another record with his knock against Australia. He is now the only Indian to record fifty-plus scores in both semi-finals and finals of a World Cup edition. Kohli smashed 117 (9 fours and 2 sixes) in the semi-final against New Zealand. He now has the highest individual score by a batter in the ODI World Cup semi-finals.
Kohli joins these veterans
Kohli is only the third player with a century and a fifty in the semi-final and final of a World Cup edition. Aravinda De Silva (in 1996) and Smith (in 2015) are the other batters with this feat.
