Cricket legend Virat Kohli has made history by becoming the fastest player to reach 14,000 runs in One Day International (ODI) cricket, achieving this remarkable milestone in just 287 innings. In a thrilling clash at the Champions Trophy, Kohli scored an unbeaten century, guiding India to a decisive six-wicket victory over their fierce rivals, Pakistan. This win has placed the hosts at risk of an early exit from the tournament.
Kohli commenced the match with 13,985 runs and finished with a stellar 100 not out, hitting the winning boundary with 45 balls to spare. Reflecting on his innings, Kohli mentioned the need to stabilise the team after an early wicket, stating, “We lost Rohit (Sharma) early, and my job was to control the middle overs against spin without taking too many risks.”
Kohli’s achievement breaks the previous record held by Sachin Tendulkar, who reached 14,000 ODI runs in 350 innings. Tendulkar remains the overall leading run-scorer in ODIs, amassing 18,426 runs across 452 innings, while Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara retired with 14,234 runs in 380 innings.
In the match, India chased down a target of 242 runs, with Kohli and Shreyas Iyer contributing a solid partnership of 114 runs for the third wicket. Iyer scored 56 runs off 67 balls, complementing Kohli’s remarkable effort. Earlier, India’s Kuldeep Yadav excelled with the ball, taking 3 wickets for 40 runs, restricting Pakistan to 241 runs in 49.4 overs.
Pakistan’s innings saw Saud Shakeel as the top scorer with 62 runs, sharing a crucial 104-run partnership with captain Mohammad Rizwan, who added 46 runs.
Following this result, India sits at the top of Group A with four points and is well on its way to securing a spot in the semi-finals, with their final league match scheduled against New Zealand in Dubai on March 2. Meanwhile, Pakistan faces a challenging match against Bangladesh, as the threat of elimination from the tournament looms large.