During the 2023 World Cup match against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, Virat Kohli overtook Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most runs by an Indian batsman in limited-overs ICC competitions (World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy).
Kohli batted bravely for 85 balls and shared 165 runs for the fourth wicket with KL Rahul (97* off 115) as India rallied from 2/3 to win by six wickets in 41.2 overs.
During his magnificent performance, Kohli eclipsed Tendulkar to become the Indian player with the highest runs in ICC limited-over tournaments. In 64 innings, the 34-year-old has scored 2785 runs.
Tendulkar had 2719 runs scored in 58 innings. Current Indian captain Rohit Sharma (2422 runs from 64 innings), Yuvraj Singh (1707 runs from 62 innings), and Sourav Ganguly (1671 runs from 32 innings) are his contemporaries.
Kohli and Rahul batted with tenacity to save India after Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer all failed to open their accounts. Kohli hit six fours in his innings before being caught by Josh Hazlewood (3/38), who pulled a short ball to midwicket.
“Play like it’s Test cricket” – Rahul on discussion with Kohli after India lost 2/3
Rahul was named Player of the Match after scoring 97*. He talked out about the conversation he had with Kohli after India lost three early wickets at the post-match presentation.
For the first portion of his innings, the previous captain instructed him to approach the situation as if it were a Test match.
“Virat said there’s big help in the wicket, and [we] just have to play proper shots and play like it’s Test cricket for some time and see where it goes. That was mostly the plan, and happy that we could do the job for the team.”
KL Rahul
Rahul revealed that he was still trying to regain his breath after having to run to bat practically quickly after the Indian chase began.
“I was just trying to catch my breath as I just had a shower. I thought I would get a good half an hour – [or] an hour’s – break, put the feet up and just rest up. But I was out there in no time, so there was a bit of rush. I was just trying to get my breath back,” he said.
KL Rahul
India, having defeated Australia, will now take against Afghanistan on October 11 in Delhi.