Cardiff: India’s batting maestro Virat Kohli hit two major milestones with a half-century in the second ODI of the ongoing three-match ODI series against England at the Sophia Gardens on Thursday.
Kohli, playing in his 561st international for India, overtook Australia legend Ricky Ponting’s 560 runs to finish fifth in the game, behind the country’s all-time great Sachin Tendulkar and Sri Lanka’s trio of Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya.
Tendulkar continues to hold the summit with 664 international appearances followed by Jayawardene who has represented Sri Lanka in 652 matches.
Most international appearances
- Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 664 matches
- Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – 652 matches
- Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 594 matches
- Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) – 586 matches
- Virat Kohli (India) – 561 matches
- Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 560 matches
Kohli made his landmark international for India a memorable one by scoring a half-century of 65 runs off 66 balls with the help of 8 fours.
His half-century, his 14th score of fifty or more in ODIs against England, helped him equal West Indies great Sir Vivian Richards for the most fifty-plus scores against the opposition in his illustrious career.
Sri Lanka’s Sangakkara has broken the record for the highest fifty-plus score in ODIs against England for the 15th time.
Overall, it was Kohli’s 132nd fifty-over score as he moved 13 within Tendulkar’s 145 from 463 ODIs for India, 150 more than Kohli.