Virat Kohli Breaks Michael Bevan's Long-Standing Record

Team India skipper Virat Kohli did not have a good outing as far as his batting is concerned during the first ODI against Australia on Saturday. Kohli had to come out to bat very early as Shikhar Dhawan departed after registering a first-ball duck with India needing 237 runs to take the lead in the five-match series. The right-handed batsman along with Rohit Sharma then steadied the ship.

Kohli looked in his elements early on as he hit Nathan Coulter-Nile for some impressive boundaries before dispatching a Pat Cummins delivery straight over the ropes for a maximum. He also hit Adam Zampa for a few boundaries and was looking well set for another special knock. But against the run of play, he missed a googly from Zampa and was trapped leg-before-wicket. The umpire had initially turned the appeal down before Australia reviewed it and got the decision successfully overturned. As a result, Kohli’s promising knock ended on 44. The knock came off 45 balls and contained 6 fours and a six.

India, nonetheless, soon found themselves in more trouble. 13 runs after Kohli’s departure, Rohit and Ambati Rayudu departed too, leaving the hosts reeling at 99 for 4. At the halfway mark, India were delicately placed at 105 for 4 with Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni in the middle. Jadhav and Dhoni went on to score fine match-winning fifties en route their unbeaten 141-run stand to take India home. Jadhav remained unbeaten on 81 while Dhoni scored 59 as India won the series-opener by six wickets.

MS Dhoni finishes it off in style.

Kedar Jadhav (81*) and MS Dhoni (59*) hit half-centuries as #TeamIndia win by 6 wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the 5 match ODI series #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/HHA7FfEDjZ

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 2, 2019

Meanwhile, Kohli ended up breaking a long-standing record with his 44-run knock.  During the game, Kohli completed his 12,000 runs in List A cricket. He became the 50th player to achieve the milestone.

The India skipper reached the milestone in 248 innings and broke Australian legend Michael Bevan’s record of fastest to 12,000 runs in List A cricket.  Bevan had completed his 12,000 runs in his 297th innings.