Virat Kohli became the highest run-scorer against New Zealand in One Day International (ODI) cricket after surpassing former Australia captain Ricky Ponting during the second ODI between India and New Zealand in Wellington on November 7.
Kohli entered the match level with Ponting’s record of 1,971 runs against New Zealand. He needed just one run to move ahead and achieved the milestone with a boundary early in India’s innings.
The Indian batter was dismissed for seven runs from seven deliveries, but his brief innings took his overall tally against New Zealand to 1,978 runs in 38 ODI innings. Ponting had scored 1,971 runs in 50 innings across 51 matches.
Sachin Tendulkar is third on the list with 1,750 runs against New Zealand, followed by Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara with 1,568 and Sanath Jayasuriya with 1,519.
Kohli also holds the record for the most ODI centuries against New Zealand, with seven hundreds. His latest achievement adds to a series of records accumulated during his career in the 50-over format.
The milestone came after a strong performance in the first ODI in Auckland, where Kohli scored 74 from 51 deliveries. India won that match by five wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
The second match was reduced to 47 overs per side because of rain. New Zealand were bowled out for 134, setting India a target of 135.
