What is Virat Kohli’s record as an opener in ODI cricket? 

Ace batter Virat Kohli will in all likelihood open the innings for India alongside skipper Rohit Sharma in the third ODI against Australia at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Wednesday.

Rohit announced during the toss that Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the contest after succumbing to the viral infection that has affected a number of other players in the squad as well.

As a result, the Men in Blue have to come up with a contingency plan when they come out to bat, and if the team sheet is any indication, Kohli has been promoted to the top of the order, with Shreyas Iyer retaining his spot at No. 3.

While Kohli has made his reputation at the famous No. 3 spot for India in ODIs, his maiden appearance for the nation was as an opening batter. In fact, he opened the innings across all five matches of his very first ODI series against Sri Lanka in 2008.

He scored 12 runs off 22 deliveries in his first international appearance but slowly found rhythm to be among the runs in the series, with a maiden fifty in the fourth ODI.

Overall, he has scored 166 runs in seven matches as an opening batter in ODI cricket at an average of 23.71.

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Virat Kohli's most recent appearance as an ODI opening batter came during the tour of Bangladesh in 2022

After his maiden ODI series, his next innings as an opening batter in the format came in 2014. Virat Kohli batted at the top of the order in the seven-wicket loss against New Zealand at Seddon Park.

His last and most recent appearance as an opening batter in ODIs came during the second game against Bangladesh in December 2022. Rohit Sharma sustained an injury to his thumb while fielding, which left Kohli to open the innings with Shikhar Dhawan in the must-win encounter.

However, Kohli was dismissed for just five runs off six deliveries by Ebadot Hossain. India proceeded to lose by five runs, despite an injured Rohit scoring a memorable half-century coming in at No. 8.

Will the former skipper be among the runs as an opening batter in the third ODI? Let us know what you think.