The milestone arrived in Kohli’s Vijay Hazare Trophy comeback for Delhi, his first appearance in India’s premier domestic 50-over tournament in almost 15 years, in the Round 1 game against Andhra at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

Delhi have been set a stiff chase of 299, and Kohli reached the mark almost immediately after coming into bat after the early loss of the first wicket. His first run in the innings took him to the magic figure of 16,000 runs in List A cricket. The achievement also puts Virat Kohli in rare global company; he is the ninth player overall to reach 16,000 List A runs, a bracket where his overall consistency stands out, highlighted by a List A average north of 57 and an imposing century count of 57.

Beyond the number, the timing matters. Kohli’s return to the Vijay Hazare trophy is part of the BCCI’s recent push for senior internationals to stay connected with domestic cricket, and the Delhi-Andhra fixture suddenly became one of the most followed games of the opening round.

Top five Indians by List A runs

With Kohli now crossing 16000 runs, here’s how the all-time India top five in List A career runs shape up:

1. Sachin Tendulkar – 21,999

2. Virat Kohli – 16,052*

3. Sourav Ganguly – 15,622

4. Rahul Dravid – 15,271

5. Rohit Sharma – 13,517*