Virat Kohli: The Numbers That Define The Journey To The 14,000 Club

He is unarguably amongst the three greatest ODI batters of all-time. His sustained excellence over the last 15 years speaks volumes of his ability and mastery of the 50-over format. On Sunday, Virat Kohli added another feather to his cap becoming the fastest batter to 14000 runs in ODI cricket. He also registered his 51st ODI hundred taking his overall tally of international tons to 82.  We look back at some numbers which define Kohli's journey to Club 14K. 

The Hobart Hundred - Kohli - the Master Chaser is born 

The 28th of February, 2012 changed Virat Kohli and Indian cricket forever. Exactly 13 years ago to this date, Kohli smashed a breathtaking unbeaten 133 off just 86 deliveries from number 4 pulling off a near-impossible 321-run chase against Sri Lanka in just 36.4 overs (India needed to chase the runs in 40 overs to stay alive in the series). It gave birth to Kohli - the master-chaser in ODI cricket and there was no looking back. 

The Golden Period - Kohli rules the world 

Kohli was in Bradmanesque form in ODI cricket from 2016 till the end of 2019 and smashed 4778 runs in just 75 innings at a stunning average of 80.98. He was the leading run-getter in this time-frame and no batter came close to his batting average. Rohit Sharma was at number two with an average of 65.3. 

Kohli also scored his runs at a fair clip with a strike rate of 99.27 and registered 20 hundreds in this four-year period. No batter has ever dominated 50-over cricket for a significant period of time as Kohli did in this time-frame - not even Viv Richards in the 1980s or Tendulkar at his pomp in the late 1990s!

Interestingly, Kohli was not the fastest to 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000 or 7000 ODI runs but due to his mind-boggling