Arguably one of the best Indian batters of all time, Virat Kohli on Wednesday broke yet another record that had been previously held by Sachin Tendulkar by becoming the fastest to reach 16,000 runs in List A cricket. The most followed cricketer on the planet achieved this milestone in his 330th innings in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Often hailed by fans across the globe as the ‘god’ of cricket. Tendulkar had achieved the landmark in 391 innings. 37-year-old Kohli touched the mark during his team Delhi’s opening Vijay Hazare game against Andhra at the BCCI Centre of Excellence.
Kohli now holds the record for being the fastest to reach the block of 1000, 10,000, 14,000 and 16,000 List A runs in cricket. India’s star ODI batter, Kohli is playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy after a gap of 15 years.
Virat Kohli’s 58th List A hundred resembled a grand concert played inside an empty stadium. Kohli’s 83-ball knock for Delhi against Andhra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy was magnificent as usual in its execution, but there were no screaming spectators to garnish the occasion at the BCCI Centre of Excellence.
The Karnataka government’s inability to grant permission to host matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium citing security reasons forced the KSCA to shift matches to CoE, placing the venue out of bounds for fans leading to them missing out on the much beloved cricketer’s return to Vijay Hazare.
But that situational solitude did not affect his batting. Barring a couple of drops, Kohli slipped into his familiar ‘Chase Master’ garb with ease, claiming his fifty in 39 balls and 100 in 83 deliveries.
In the premier domestic one-day competition, he has made 819 runs from 13 matches at an average of 68.25 and a strike-rate of 106 with four centuries and three fifties. Retired from the Test and T20 International formats, Kohli’s next India assignment is expected to be the home ODI series against New Zealand beginning January 11.
IndiGo has successfully resumed flying over 1 million passengers every three days and is now operating 2,100-2,200 flights daily across 138 destinations. Despite challenges, the airline remains committed to connecting India with key destinations and is preparing to induct India’s first Airbus A321X.
