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    STUMP VISION                                                         JANUARY 23, 2026      |  The Indian Eye 38

             Virat Kohli Breaks Records—and Shows

                Why Numbers Never Tell the Full Story

                            Even on a rare off day with the bat, Virat Kohli underlined his

              enduring greatness by reclaiming the No. 1 ODI ranking and becoming India’s

                                              highest run-scorer against New Zealand

            OUR BUREAU

            Mumbai
                  irat Kohli’s return to the top of the ODI
                  batting rankings has been accompanied by
            Va familiar paradox—dominance without
            drama, milestones without milestones knocks,
            and greatness that does not always require a
            three-figure score. His first outing after reclaim-
            ing the No. 1 spot may have yielded just 23 runs in
            Rajkot, but the numbers around that innings told
            a far bigger story.
                On Wednesday, Kohli became India’s lead-
            ing run-getter against New Zealand in ODI his-
            tory,  overtaking  Sachin  Tendulkar,  a  name  that
            still  defines  batting  excellence  in  Indian  cricket.
            In 35 ODIs against the Black Caps, Kohli has
            now scored 1,773 runs at a staggering average of
            55.4, with six centuries and ten half-centuries. Ten-
            dulkar finished with 1,750 runs from 42 matches at
            an average of 46.05. It was a quiet passing of the
            baton—no raised bat, no celebratory roar—but
            deeply symbolic nonetheless.
                The Rajkot innings itself was unremarkable by
            Kohli’s lofty standards. Fans had hoped the newly
            crowned world No. 1 batter would extend his run
            of fifty-plus scores in List-A cricket to eight. In-
            stead, he fell for a 29-ball 23, undone by Kristian                             Virat Kohli (ANI file photo)
            Clarke. Yet even in dismissal, Kohli’s standards
            remained  evident—two  crisp  boundaries,  intent   land at Vadodara was vintage Kohli—measured,   utive ODI fifties. Globally, only a handful—Javed
            from ball one, and visible frustration at getting out,   controlled, and decisive under pressure. Chasing   Miandad and Imam-ul-Haq among them—have
            a detail former cricketer Mohammad Kaif would   a stiff 301-run target, he anchored the innings with   managed longer streaks.
            later highlight as emblematic of Kohli’s mindset.  calm authority, earning the Player of the Match   Beyond the statistics lies the broader con-
                That relentless self-demand is precisely why   award and guiding India to a four-wicket win. That   text of Kohli’s career arc. At 37, he is no longer
            Kohli is back at the summit of world cricket. Earli-  knock also reinforced another Kohli hallmark: his   the young phenom chasing benchmarks; he is the
            er in the week, the ICC confirmed that the Indian   unmatched record in run chases. With 1,091 runs   benchmark. His total of 825 days at the top of
            icon had reclaimed the No. 1 ODI batting ranking   in successful ODI chases of 300-plus totals, he av-  the ODI rankings is the most by an Indian batter
            for the first time since July 2021. With 785 rating   erages an astonishing 121.22, striking at over 125.  and the 10th highest overall. In an era of relent-
            points, Kohli  edged  past New Zealand’s Daryl   It is this ability to convert starts into match-win-  less scrutiny and evolving formats, sustaining such
            Mitchell by the narrowest of margins. It marked   ning contributions that sets Kohli apart, according   dominance requires not just skill, but adaptability
            his 11th separate stint at the top—an extraordinary   to Mohammad Kaif. The former India batter re-  and mental resilience.
            measure of longevity in a format increasingly dom-  cently noted that Kohli’s consistency and temper-  Even his modest Rajkot innings served as a re-
            inated by fleeting peaks.                    ament give him an edge over contemporaries, in-  minder of that resilience. On a day when he failed
                The numbers behind this comeback are stag-  cluding Rohit Sharma, in ODI cricket. “A score of   to convert, Kohli still walked off having rewritten
            gering. Since October last year, Kohli has been in   30 or 40 means he will stay till the end and win the   history. It was a moment that encapsulated his ca-
            relentless form, scoring fifty-plus runs in seven con-  match,” Kaif observed, pointing to Kohli’s refusal   reer perfectly—where the scoreboard did not ex-
            secutive List-A innings. His recent sequence—93,   to settle for cameos.                   plode, but the record books quietly shifted.
            77, 131, 65, 102, 135 and 74—reads like a master-  That hunger has placed Kohli on the brink of   For Indian cricket, Kohli’s resurgence at the
            class in consistency across conditions and compe-  another record. He already has five successive fif-  top is more than personal glory. It offers stability
            titions. In 2025 alone, he amassed 651 ODI runs   ty-plus scores in ODIs, a feat shared with legends   in a transitional phase and reassurance that, when
            in 13 matches at an average of 65.10, finishing as   such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Ro-  the stakes are highest, the man who has defined
            India’s leading run-scorer for the calendar year.  hit  Sharma.  One  more  half-century  would  make   chasing excellence for over a decade remains very
                His 93 in the series opener against New Zea-  him the first Indian batter to register six consec-  much in command.

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