India defeated New Zealand by five wickets via the DLS method at Auckland to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series
Virat Kohli led the run-chase with a fast-paced 74 off 51 balls after early wickets fell
Kohli surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's total of 8,720 to become the all-time leading run-scorer in ODI chases
India opened the five-match series with a five-wicket win by the DLS method at Eden Park, Auckland. New Zealand were bowled out for 185 in 40.2 overs. Arshdeep Singh took 4/70 and Tim Seifert’s 38 was the top score. Rain then cut India’s target to 143 in 32 overs, and they chased it down in 22.4.
The chase was driven by Virat Kohli, who made 74 off 51 balls, with 13 fours and a six. Rohit Sharma was out for a duck in the first over, but Kohli and Shubman Gill (37) steadied the innings. With this knock, Kohli also went into the record books. He moved to 8,741 runs in ODI chases, past Sachin Tendulkar’s 8,720
The margin is only 21 runs, but the record means more than the number suggests. Tendulkar held it for years, and it measures something specific: scoring runs while a target is being set against you, with the pressure of a required rate and a shrinking list of wickets. Kohli has long been called India’s chase master, and this milestone puts a number on that reputation.
The efficiency of his runs is the real difference between the two. Kohli averages 66.21 in chases, against 42.33 for Tendulkar, a gap of nearly 24 runs per dismissal. He has also scored faster, at a strike rate of 95.03 to Tendulkar’s 88.44. In effect, Kohli has made more runs than the man he replaced while getting out far less often.
Virat Kohli Vs Sachin Tendulkar - Stats
Virat Kohli |8741 Runs | 66.21 Average | 95.03 Strike Rate
Sachin Tendulkar 8720 Runs | 42.33 Average| 88.44 Strike Rate
At 37, and with a birthday tomorrow, Kohli will keep adding to the total in the four ODIs still to come in this series.
