Virat Kohli turns 37: Deep dive into stunning numbers of India’s all-format batting juggernaut

NEW DELHI: India’s batting icon and one of modern-day cricket’s greatest success stories, Virat Kohli, turned 37 on Wednesday.

Since bursting onto the international cricket scene back in 2008 as a chubby-faced teenager from the streets of West Delhi, the veteran batter has reached a stratosphere in world cricket that few have achieved, accumulating a mix of personal and team accomplishments that could leave almost any major cricketer from his time envious.

Right from his days as a youngster who led India to a U19 World Cup title in Kuala Lumpur, it was clear that Virat was cut from a different cloth and, in some ways, was of a different mould than his seniors, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly.

While he reminded people of Sachin with his consistency and rock-solid technique over the years, and of Ganguly with his on-field aggression, he took the positives from these aforementioned legends and transformed them into something bigger as the leader of India’s next generation, alongside MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.

A Test ambassador with record-breaking highs and painful lows
Virat wore India’s whites for 123 Tests, scoring 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties and a best score of 254*, ending his Test career as India’s fourth-highest run-getter.

Virat experienced one of the strongest prime runs in Test cricket from 2016 to 2019, scoring 4,208 runs in 43 Tests at an average of 66.79, including 16 centuries and 10 fifties, with a stunning seven double tons, the most by a captain in Test cricket.

From the 2020s, he faced a significant decline and could register only three more tons until his retirement this year, averaging just around 30 this time.

However, despite this dip, Virat’s impact in Tests remains larger than his numbers suggest. For many, he revived the art form of Test cricket and made five days of back-and-forth action between two elite Test-playing nations cool again. He turned out to be India’s greatest Test captain, with 40 wins, 17 losses and 11 draws in 68 Tests.

Seven of his Test wins came in South Africa, England, and New Zealand (SENA) nations, the most by an Indian captain. He is also the only captain to have won a Test series for India in Australia back in 2019.

As a captain, he registered 5,864 runs at an average of 54.80, the most by an Indian captain and fourth overall, with 20 centuries and 18 fifties.

As a captain, he played a vital part in extending India’s dominance at home, winning series after series. Using a strict fitness regime on his own, he laid down the emphasis on proper fitness with various fitness Tests and parameters, including the Yo-Yo Test.

Virat also loved his fast bowlers, and using the tag of “bowler’s captain” would be just perfect for him. Under his leadership, India developed a massive pool of fast bowling talent, including Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, with each of these champion bowlers being capable of wreaking mayhem anywhere.

Under his leadership, India was the number one Test team for 43 months from October 2016 to May 2020.

-An ODI titan with a calculator
It would not be wrong to say that Virat is perhaps the best ODI batter ever. In 305 ODIs, he has scored 14,255 runs at an average of 57.71, with 51 centuries (most by a player in ODIs) and 75 fifties and a best score of 183. He is the second-highest run-getter in ODIs of all time.

What makes the 37-year-old’s record even more stunning is a calculated ‘Chasemaster’ hidden beneath these numbers. During successful run-chases in ODIs, Virat holds the record for most runs and centuries, with 6,072 runs in 108 matches at a mind-boggling average of 89.29, including 24 centuries and 27 in 102 innings.

He is the fastest to achieve milestones of 8,000, 9,000, 10,000, 11,000, 12,000, 13,000, and 14,000 runs in ODI cricket in the format’s history.

In terms of trophies, Virat has the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and 2013, 2025 ICC Champions Trophy sitting in his cabinet, having made vital contributions in these title wins, particularly in knockout matches.

He has the second-highest runs in ICC Cricket World Cup history, with 1,795 runs in 37 matches at an average of 59.83, including five centuries and 12 fifties.

Virat, during the 2023 World Cup scaled new heights as an ODI batter, having registered the best-ever campaign by a batter, with 765 runs in 11 matches, averaging over 95, including three centuries and six fifties, with best score of 117 coming in semifinals against New Zealand at Mumbai, which happened to be his 50th ODI ton, making him the first to reach the milestone. He won the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award in India’s heartbreaking runners-up finish.

-An all-season T20I batter
With 4,188 runs in 125 matches at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of over 137, including a century and 38 fifties in 117 innings, Virat was one of India’s most reliable batters in the shortest format and is currently the third-highest run-getter in the format.

In this format as well, he boasts of an excellent chasing record, with 1,651 runs in 42 matches and 39 innings at an astonishing average of 78.61, a strike rate of over 135 and 16 half-centuries. From Mohali to Melbourne, Virat has been the brains behind some of the format’s most iconic chases.

A 2024 T20 World Cup winner with a ‘Player of the Match’ winning 76 in the final against South Africa, which turned out to be his swansong in the format, Virat also has two T20 World Cup ‘Player of the Tournament’ titles.

With 1,292 runs in 35 matches at an average of 58.72, a strike rate of above 128 and 15 fifties in 33 innings, Virat is the most decorated batter in the tournament. He also holds the record for most runs scored in a single T20 WC, 319 runs in six innings during the 2014 edition, averaging 106.33, scoring at a strike rate of over 129, including four fifties.

Virat’s chasing instincts are at their peak during T20 WCs, having scored 519 runs in 12 matches and 11 innings during successful run-chases at a ‘league of his own’ average of 173.00 and strike rate of above 137, with seven fifties, staying unbeaten eight times.

But calculated run-chases aren’t everything when it comes to Virat the T20I batter, with his strike rate of over 198 in death overs still being amongst the best even after his retirement from the format. ‘Ice’ or ‘Fire’, Virat chooses his favourite T20I suit as per the situation.

An ICC event giant
Virat has conquered it all in the limited-overs ICC events, with a 50-over and T20 World Cup each and two ICC Champions Trophies as a part of the Indian team. Individually, he is the only player with three ‘Player of the Tournament’ honours in ICC events.

He is the highest run-getter across ICC CWC, T20 WC and Champions Trophy combined with 3,834 runs in 90 matches and 87 innings at an average of 61.33, including six tons and 33 fifties.

The right-hander brings his A game during the knockout stages, being the only player to have 1,000+ runs in knockout matches of ICC events, if ICC World Test Championship finals are added. In 22 matches and 24 innings, he has made 1,024 runs at an average of over 51, with a century and nine fifties to his name.

The IPL icon who bleeds Red and Gold
Virat, the IPL cricketer, is an example of what unwavering loyalty, faith and a ‘chance of 1%’ can do to a player. Having spent 18 years with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) since the tournament’s inception back in 2008, the man in the number 18 shirt ended his wait for an IPL title this year.

He is the top run-getter and century-getter in the tournament’s history, with 8,661 runs at an average of 39.54 in 267 matches, including eight tons and 63 fifties in 259 innings.

His peak as an IPL batter came in 2016, when he registered the best-ever campaign by a batter, scoring 973 runs in 16 matches at an average of 81.40 and a strike rate of over 152, with four centuries and seven fifties, winning the ‘Orange Cap’ for most runs.

He won the Orange Cap once again last year, with 741 runs in 15 matches, averaging 61.75, striking at over 154, with a century and five fifties to his name. (ANI)