3 records Virat Kohli notched up in 2019

Virat Kohli and batting records are just synonymous to each other. The number of records that the Indian captain has broken and created with the bat in the last 5 years is just phenomenal. And he just goes on and on every year, creating more and more records. 2019 was no different. Kohli excelled with the bat again, winning India a number of games both in red ball and white ball cricket. And as has been the case in the last few years, he didn’t quite have a dip in form at any stage of the year. Here are the 3 records Kohli made in 2019 –

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#1 First batsman to score 20,000 international runs in a decade

Virat Kohli batting against West Indies

In 2019, Kohli became the first batsman ever to complete 20,000 international runs in a decade. In the period between 2010 and 2019, Kohli played 84 Test matches, 227 ODIs and 75 T20Is in which he scored 7202, 11125, and 2633 runs respectively, making it a grand total of 20960 runs - a testament to his consistency in different formats of the game. And it’s not just about different formats; it’s about different conditions as well. Kohli has scored all these runs in different countries around the world where the conditions have been totally different to what he is used to, batting in India.

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Out of the 27 Test hundreds Kohli has scored in this decade, only 13 have been scored at home. 14 have come in away conditions. The 31-year old has scored 6 Test hundreds in Australia, 2 Test hundreds in England and 2 Test hundreds in South Africa, three countries which are the toughest places to bat for a subcontinent batsman. He is just approaching the peak of his career and it shouldn’t be surprising if he dominates the best part of the next decade as well.

#2 Fastest batsman to reach 1000 fours in ODIs

Virat Kohli after scoring a hundred

Generally, when you talk about Kohli’s batting style in ODIs, you think he is a batsman who likes to construct his innings and collects most of his runs by running between the wickets, but the stats suggest that his rate of hitting boundaries in ODIs is second to none.

In 2019, Kohli reached the tally of 1000 fours in ODI cricket in just 216 innings. The second on the list is Virender Sehwag who was one of the most destructive batsmen India ever produced. Sehwag liked to deal in boundaries rather than ones and twos, but it took him 5 more innings than Kohli to complete 1000 fours in ODI cricket.

Also, Sehwag opened the batting when the field was up. So, he had the advantage of clearing the infield and getting the boundaries. Kohli bats one down and generally, for most parts of his innings, the field is spread. Yet that he still manages to find the gaps and hit boundaries is a clear indicator of his class.

# First Indian captain to score 250+ in a Test innings

Virat Kohli has led India well in the Tests

No Indian captain before Kohli was able to get past the 250 run mark in Test match cricket. Kohli crossed that barrier in 2019 and he did it against one of the prominent Test teams in the world - South Africa. In the second match of the 3-match Test series against South Africa in Pune, Kohli scored an unbeaten double hundred and finished with the score of 254 off just 336 deliveries with 33 fours and 2 sixes. A match winning performance by the skipper.

Kohli’s innings helped India post a huge score of 601 on the board batting first and the first innings score was sufficient for the hosts to win the game. They bowled South Africa out for just 275 in the first innings, enforced the follow-on and then bundled the Proteas out again for 189 to win the Test match by an innings and 137 runs.