Virat Kohli and 10K: The tireless beast

Kohli magic: Debut in 2008, World Cup victory in 2011 and an insane leap after taking over from M.S. Dhoni as an all-format skipper.

Kohli entered the 10K ODI run-club after smashing an unbeaten 157 against the Windies on Wednesday.

When Virat Kohli made his ODI debut in 2008, he was already a World Cup winner; albeit in the U-19 category. Fresh out of the tournament in Malaysia, teenager Kohli had boarded the flight to Sri Lanka with the seniors. He appeared in five games, scored one half-century and a couple of 30s before reappearing exactly a year later, against the same opponent.

Cut to 2018.

Kohli entered the 10K ODI run-club after smashing an unbeaten 157 against the Windies on Wednesday.

Sportstar breaks down his journey.

1,000 runs

Innings 24

Avg 52.63

SR 81.9

100s 2

Virat Kohli at a Team India net session in 2008.

 

The Champions Trophy in 2009 showed early flashes of the genius in the making. Against the West Indies (now Windies), Kohli smashed an unbeaten 79 to win the match for India. It was the beginning.

2,000 runs

Innings 29

Avg 38.46

SR 88.30

100s 3

Virat Kohli poses as a broadcaster for the shutterbugs.

 

The 2,000 run-mark came against the Windies in Port of Spain in 2011. By this time, he also won the seniors’ World Cup under M.S. Dhoni’s leadership.

3,000 runs

Innings 22

Avg 52.63

SR 88.10

100s 3

Virat Kohli with Yuvraj Singh at a training session.

 

By this time, people had started comparing him to Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli also started having the verbal duels on field with the opponents.

4,000 runs

Innings 18

Avg 62.50

SR 93.02

100s 5

Virat Kohli plays football with M.S. Dhoni at a practice session.

 

From one Champions Trophy to the other. Tendulkar had retired and the focus was solely on Kohli. He completed 4,000 runs during the high profile ICC tournament in the United Kingdom.

5,000 runs

Innings 21

Avg. 66.66

SR 101.93

100s 4

Virat Kohli in action against New Zealand in 2010.

 

This was a tough phase for Kohli. The flaring temper got him into trouble a couple of times in the IPL. But it was an important year as he led India for the first time as a stand-in skipper.

6,000 runs

Innings: 22

Avg: 47.61

SR: 98.42

100s: 3

 

Virat Kohli scored a crucial 35 in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka in 2011.

 

He couldn’t read James Anderson in Tests, but runs kept flowing in ODIs. His average had started moving upwards.

7,000 runs

Innings: 25

Avg: 47.61

SR: 86.5

100s: 4

Sachin Tendulkar advising a young Kohli ahead of a Test match in 2012.

 

Kohli’s game improved after he took over the reins from Dhoni in Tests. The improvement translated across formats and he kept piling runs on hard pitches like in Australia. The ton against Pakistan in the ICC World Cup 2015 stands out in this period.

8,000 runs

Innings: 14

Avg: 100

SR: 112.86

100s: 3

When he reached 8,000, he averaged around 100.

 

Kohli – the fitness freak – was born during this phase. During this period, he scored more than 1,000 runs in a calendar year for the first time.

9,000 runs

Innings: 19

Avg: 71.42

SR: 89.12

100s: 5

Nobody expected the chubby boy to become a fitness freak.

 

By now, Kohli was a global icon. The bank balance reports had reached Forbes. England striker Harry Kane knew him too.

10,000 runs

Innings: 11

Avg: 125

SR: 100.90

100s: 5

Kohli raises his bat after the 37th ODI ton against Windies in Vishakhapatnam on Wednesday.

 

The golden form started in South Africa this year, where India won the ODI series 5-1, all thanks to Kohli who scored three centuries.