Kohli amasses 25K across formats, beats Tendulkar

Press Trust of India

New Delhi: Virat Kohli added another feather in his cap on Sunday as he became the sixth and the fastest batter in the world to score 25,000 runs across for mats during the second Test against Australia, which India won by six wickets, here.

Kohli achieved the feat when he reached 8 during India’s run chase of 115 as he flicked Nathan Lyon for a boundary in the 12th over in the second innings. He had come into his 492nd match overall with 52 runs needed to reach the milestone. He made 44 in India’s first innings and was out for 20 in the second essay to end at 25,012 runs.

“Milestone Unlocked. Congratulations @imVkohli on reaching 25,000 runs in international cricket! Simply sensational,” the BCCI tweeted. “... And heartiest congratulations to @imVkohli on becoming the fastest to get to 25,000 international runs,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in his tweet to congratulate the team for winning the Tests.

The other stalwarts to have scored more than 25,000 runs across formats are Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar (34,357 from 664 matches), Sri Lankans Kumar Sangakkara (28,016 from 594 matches) and Mahela Jayawardene (25,957 from 652 matches), Australian Ricky Ponting (27,483 from 560 matches) and South African Jacques Kallis (25,534 from 519 matches). The 34-year-old Kohli, who made his India debut in 2008, reached the milestone in his 549th innings, the least among the six batters.

Tendulkar had taken 577 innings to reach the 25,000-run mark while Ponting did it in 588 innings. Kohi also has a 53-plus average while making the 25,000-plus runs, the highest among the members of the exclusive club with Kallis second at 49.10. Kohli has 8,195 runs from 106 Tests, 12,809 from 271 ODIs and 4,008 from 115 T20Is.