IND vs NZ: Virat Kohli set to surpass Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane; closes in on historic ODI feat

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli is one big innings away from setting a new Indian record as India face New Zealand in the second ODI at Rajkot on Wednesday. The 37-year-old has scored five consecutive fifty-plus scores in ODIs. The sequence began in the final ODI against Australia in Sydney and continued in the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara, where he scored 93 off 91 balls with eight fours and one six. He scored at a strike rate of over 100.

Look who is back! Virat Kohli arrives for the ODI series vs South Africa

With five successive fifty-plus scores, Kohli is currently level with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane among Indian batters. A half-century in Rajkot would make him the first Indian batter to record six consecutive fifty-plus scores in ODIs. At the global level, Pakistan’s Javed Miandad leads the list with nine successive fifty-plus scores in ODIs, followed by Imam-ul-Haq with seven. Players who have achieved six successive fifty-plus ODI scores include Kane Williamson, Shai Hope, Babar Azam, Paul Stirling, Ross Taylor and Chris Gayle. In his last five ODIs, Kohli has scored 469 runs at an average of 156.33, including two hundreds and three fifties. If his two innings in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Delhi are added — scores of 131 and 77 — he has seven straight fifty-plus scores in List A cricket. Across these seven innings, he has scored 677 runs at an average of 135.4, with three centuries and four fifties. India began the series with a four-wicket win over New Zealand in Vadodara. However, Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the rest of the series due to a side strain. The selectors have named Delhi all-rounder Ayush Badoni as his replacement. However, India are likely to include Nitish Kumar Reddy in the playing XI, in line with head coach Gautam Gambhir’s preference for players who offer more than one skill.

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