Virat Kohli and KL Rahul put on a mammoth unbroken third-wicket partnership against Pakistan today (September 11), combining for a whopping 233 runs – here’s all the statistical milestones they racked up and the records they broke doing it.
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Both Kohli and Rahul scored centuries on the reserve day for the Asia Cup fixture, which began yesterday before play was curtailed by rain. Rahul reached his hundred first, playing his first ODI since March, after Shreyas Iyer missed out with a back spasm. In the following over, it was Kohli’s turn as he reached his 47th ODI hundred with a single from Shaheen Shah Afridi.
On his way to three figures, Kohli became the fastest player ever to score 14,000 international runs batting at No.3. He is the fifth highest run-scoring No.3 of all time, having scored 14,047 international runs by the end of his innings, with only Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Kane Williamson and Rahul Dravid above him. He also passed 13,000 ODI runs and became the fastest player ever to reach that milestone. It continues his records of being the fastest to reach 8,000, 9,000, 10,000, 11,0000 and 12,000 ODI runs.
Kohli is also now the player involved in the most 150+ partnerships in the Asia Cup, this being his fifth. It was also fitting that Kohli’s latest masterpiece came at Colombo, where he has scored centuries in each of his last four ODI innings at the ground. His innings there since July 31, 2012 have been worth 128*, 131, 110, 122*. He is now joint with Hashim Amla for the most consecutive ODI centuries scored at the same ground.
– 100* (84)
– 6 fours
– 2 sixes
– 119.04 strike rateVirat Kohli brings up his 47th ODI century and his 77th overall in international cricket 💯👏#PAKvIND #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/B96a4kFhpb
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) September 11, 2023
While boundaries flowed for most of the innings, it was in the last ten overs where Rahul and Kohli really ramped up the heat. They score 105 runs between over 40 and 50, hitting 12 boundaries including three in consecutive balls off the last three balls of Faheem Ashraf’s final over. Kohli hit a six off the last ball of the innings, walking down the pitch and pumping a knee-high full toss into the stands.
That shot took India to 356-2 – India’s joint highest ever ODI score against Pakistan, tied with the 356-9 they scored at Visakhapatnam in 2005, where MS Dhoni scored 148.
