Cricket News
Virat Kohli World Cup Profile, Stats, records and everything you need to know
Virat Kohli on Sunday re-affirmed why he is called the King of Cricket. The 34-year-old put his head down and scored 85 in Chennai during India’s opening game of the ODI World Cup 2023. India’s very first game was against Australia and the Indian team was in dire straits at 2/3. It needed a Virat Kohli special and the former India skipper delivered just that.
India’s last World Cup triumph came in 2011 when Virat Kohli was just aged 22-years-old. The team had stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, and Ashish Nehra. Under the tutelage of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli was viewed as the long-term future.
The right-handed run machine played two more World Cups in 2015 and 2019 both times reaching the final four. In 2019, Kohli was the captain and was called the best side of the tournament. India lost out to New Zealand and the wait for a third World Cup title still lays bare.
Virat Kohli’s amazing World Cup numbers –
The game against Bangladesh on 19th February 2011 was the day when Virat Kohli made his ODI World Cup debut. The then 22-year-old scored 100 not out from just 83 balls in his debut game.
Kohli was silent for the majority of the tournament barring his 59 against West Indies in Chennai. During the final in Mumbai, Virat Kohli scored 35 crucial runs as he stitched a key stand with Gautam Gambhir. The 3rd wicket stand arrested the early slide when lost its two iconic openers.
By the time the 2015 ODI World Cup came knocking, Virat Kohli was already an established batter. His 107-run knock against Pakistan in Adelaide added yet another accolade in his career. That sadly was the only fifty or above score for Virat Kohli during that year’s World Cup.
Leading his side during the 2019 World Cup, Virat Kohli scored 443 runs with an average above 55. Kohli scored five half-centuries in a row as the big score eluded him and so did the title. The former India skipper scored a mere 1 run before falling to Trent Boult during the game in Manchester.
In Chennai on Sunday during the ODI World Cup 2023 game against Australia, Kohli was in a different zone. His 85 runs came off 116 balls as he helped India get out of a seriously grim situation. One hopes that Virat Kohli could add another World Title before his World Cup swansong in 2023. Kohli has played 27 World Cup games scoring 1115 runs with seven half-centuries and 2 centuries with an average of 48.