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Virat Kohli continued his outstanding form, registering another fifty-plus score to make it five consecutive innings in international cricket. He narrowly missed out on a century against New Zealand on Sunday, but his 92-run knock was crucial in helping India take a 1-0 lead in a challenging run chase. Since stepping away from Tests and T20Is, Kohli remains exclusive to ODIs and has maintained excellent form in recent months with no signs of slowing down.
Kohli scored 93 off 91 balls, anchoring India’s innings in the 301-run chase. His knock, featuring eight fours and a six, helped maintain the momentum and kept India in control.
Former India cricketer WV Raman highlighted Kohli’s passion and commitment, saying the batter will continue playing as long as he enjoys the game and continues to perform. He added that Kohli will persist until he feels he can do justice to the reputation and legacy he has built over his career.
“Such cricketers generally take calls based on how they feel when they get up one fine morning. Virat Kohli, in that respect, will be no exception. He will continue until he’s enjoying the game and churning out runs. And until he can do justice to his reputation and his legacy that he has built up over the years,” WV Raman said on his YouTube channel.
Kohli retired from T20Is after a match-winning performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup, and the following year, he also stepped away from Test cricket, with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy marking his final red-ball series.
In the series opener, Kohli also reached another landmark, becoming only the third batter to cross 28,000 runs in international cricket. In the process, he moved past Kumar Sangakkara to climb to second place on the all-time run-scorers list. Across 557 international matches, the batting maestro has now amassed 28,068 runs at an impressive average of 52.66, a tally that includes 84 centuries and 146 fifties, underlining his remarkable consistency over the years.
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“Virat Kohli aware of what it takes to be on top”
Raman, former India women’s team head coach, further praised Kohli’s enduring dominance, saying he continues to silence critics and will step away from the game only on his own terms, fully aware of what it takes to excel at the highest level.
“Once again, he is quite obviously making it clear to his detractors that he’s going to be around for a while and he’s going to leave the stage only when he deems fit. And quite rightly so because he’s aware of what it takes to be on top of the game at the international level,” he added.
