In his 500th game, the former Indian skipper had an outstanding performance, finishing the opening day unbeaten on a sublime 87 runs from 161 balls. Notably, he is the 10th player and the fourth Indian cricketer to reach this significant milestone of playing 500 international matches.
However, the standout moment of the day came when Kohli surpassed the legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis to become the fifth highest run-scorer in the history of international cricket. Before the start of the match, Kohli needed 74 runs to break Kallis’ tally of 25,534 runs in 519 matches. During the third session of play, Kohli achieved this feat, taking his total runs in international cricket to 25,548 runs in 500 games.
Kohli’s achievement further solidifies his position as one of the modern-day greats of the game. With an incredible consistency and an insatiable hunger for runs, he has been a driving force behind India’s success in all formats of the game. The leader of this illustrious list is the iconic Sachin Tendulkar, who amassed a staggering 34,357 runs in his illustrious career spanning 664 matches.
Top 5 leading run-scorers in international cricket:
1) Sachin Tendulkar (India)
- Runs: 34,357
- Matches: 664
- Tons: 100
2) Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
- Runs: 28,016
- Matches: 594
- Tons: 63
3) Ricky Ponting (Australia)
- Runs: 27,483
- Matches: 560
- Tons: 71
4) Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)
- Runs: 25,957
- Matches: 652
- Tons: 54
5) Virat Kohli (India)
- Runs: 25,548
- Matches: 500*
- Tons: 75
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