Virat Kohli Leaves Behind Sanath Jayasuriya In Elite List After Stunning 95-Run Knock Against New Zealand

Virat Kohli, on Sunday (October 22), starred with the bat as India beat New Zealand by 4 wickets to register their fifth win in a row in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

Asked to bat first, New Zealand scored 273 in the allotted 50 overs. The Black Caps were reeling at 19 for 2 before a 159-run stand between Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell steadied the ship. Mohammed Shami broke the stand by dismissing Ravindra for 75.

Mitchell, on the other hand, went on to complete a well-deserved century before being dismissed for 130. For India, Shami was the pick of the bowlers, taking 5 for 54 in his first game of the ongoing competition. In reply, India chased down the total in 48 overs.

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill shared 71 runs for the first wicket before both were dismissed in quick succession by Lockie Ferguson. After that, India kept losing wickets at crucial junctures and were reeling at 191 for 5 at one stage. However, Virat Kohli stood firm at one end and played a brilliant knock of 95 runs to take India home.

He shared a crucial 78-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja for the sixth wicket before being dismissed by Matt Henry. Jadeja then hit the winning four to seal another emphatic win for the high-flying hosts. Team India now have 5 wins from as many games in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

Virat Kohli leaves behind Sanath Jayasuriya:

The latest knock has helped Virat Kohli leapfrog Sri Lanka great Sanath Jayasuriya in the list of highest run-scorers in ODIs. Before the start of the game, he was at the fifth spot behind Jayasuriya. The 95-run knock has helped him move ahead of the former Sri Lanka skipper to the fourth spot.

Virat Kohli now has 13437 runs in the ODI format, 7 runs more than what Jayasuriya scored in his illustrious career. Only Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting now have more runs in ODIs than the India batting superstar. With Team India to play at least 4 more games in the ongoing competition, Virat Kohli will be looking to leave behind Ponting too who has scored 13704 ODI runs.