Virat Kohli Achieves Rare World Record With Quickfire Half-Century Against New Zealand At Auckland

Virat Kohli became the first player in the world to complete a half-century of 50-plus scores in away ODIs on Wednesday, doing so in India's rain-hit opening ODI against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland. From No. 3, Kohli got to fifty in 35 deliveries.

The landmark left him with the most 50-plus scores in away ODIs.

He also went past another major benchmark in the chase. After starting the innings 54 runs short of Sachin Tendulkar's total, Kohli moved beyond the former India batter's mark for the most runs in ODI chases.

Away ODI Milestone

The half-century was Kohli's 29th in away ODIs, taking his total to 50 scores of 50 or more in those matches. He has also hit 21 centuries in ODIs played at the home of the opposition.

That brings his combined count of away-ODI fifties and hundreds to 50. It underlines how often he has delivered in one-day cricket outside India.

Kumar Sangakkara is next on the list. The former Sri Lanka batter had 45 scores of 50 or more across 149 ODIs at the home of the opposition.

Chase Record Broken

Another record soon fell. Kohli passed Tendulkar's mark for the most runs in ODI chases after completing his half-century in Auckland.

He had begun the match needing 54 runs to move beyond Tendulkar's 8,720 runs in chases. Kohli was on 51 off 38 balls when he hit a boundary to reach 55 and raise his chase tally to 8,722.

Rohit Sharma is next behind Kohli and Tendulkar in that list. The latest milestone adds another chase record to Kohli's already long one-day resume.

New Zealand Benchmark

One more mark was still within reach. Kohli, the second-highest run-scorer in ODIs, needed 75 runs in the ongoing match to move past Ricky Ponting's 1,971 runs and become the highest run-scorer in ODIs against New Zealand.

Ponting reached that mark across 51 ODIs against the Kiwis. He also led Australia to back-to-back ODI World Cup titles in 2003 and 2007.

The match at Eden Park is Kohli's 37th ODI against New Zealand. It is also his first one-day international in New Zealand since 2020.