Virat Kohli etched his name deeper into cricket folklore on Sunday, becoming only the second batter in the history of One Day Internationals (ODIs) to breach the mythical 15,000-run mark. The 37-year-old Kohi joined his idol and legendary compatriot Sachin Tendulkar in an exclusive club of two in ODI cricket during India’s chase against West Indies in the first ODI at Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
Naman Dhir made his international debut as India won the toss and opted to bowl first against West Indies in the first ODI. He reached the landmark with a four off Alzarri Joseph. The Greenfield International Stadium crowd rose as he acknowledged the applause. India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (wk), Naman Dhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Gurnoor Brar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Prasidh Krishna West Indies Playing XI: John Campbell, Justin Greaves, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (c & wk), Amir Jangoo, Jewel Andrew, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, and Jayden Seales
Entering the contest needing 59 runs to reach the mark, Kohli anchored India’s chase with characteristic composure and fluency, eventually breaching the magic number in his trademark calculated fashion. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to the playing XI as India begun their preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
As the Thiruvananthapuram crowd applauded him, it celebrated another memorable moment in Kohli’s outstanding career. Playing XIs For IND vs WI 1st ODI Breaks Tendulkar’s Record: 74 Innings Faster Tendulkar was the first to reach 15,000 ODI runs in 2007, but Kohli got there faster than anyone else. Virat Kohli: 303 innings (315 matches) Sachin Tendulkar: 377 innings (387 matches) By achieving the feat in 74 fewer innings, Kohli once again underlined his generational dominance in one-day cricket. He already holds the distinction of being the fastest player to reach 8,000, 9,000, 10,000, 11,000, 12,000, 13,000, and 14,000 ODI runs, making this milestone a natural continuation of his unmatched consistency. All-Time Leading Run-Scorers In Men’s ODIs Batter Batter Matches Innings Runs Average 100s/50s Sachin Tendulkar (IND) 463 452 18,426 44.83 49/96 Virat Kohli (IND) 315 303 15,000+ 58.75 54/79+ Kumar Sangakkara (SL) 404 380 14,234 41.98 25/93 Ricky Ponting (AUS) 375 365 13,704 42.03 30/82 Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) 445 433 13,430 32.36 28/68 The Chasing Masterclass Kohli’s achievement further cements his place among the greatest white-ball batters of all time. He has already broken Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ODI centuries, moving past 49 to 54 hundreds, and continues to achieve remarkable milestones. With Tendulkar’s record of 18,426 ODI runs still ahead, all eyes will be on how close Kohli can get to the legendary mark.
