India's batting juggernaut Virat Kohli is set to step on another landmark milestone as he will be playing his 500th international match in the second Test against West Indies in Port of Spain on Thursday (July 20).
Kohli will become only the 10th player to play 500 matches in his international career. Notably, batting great Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of featuring in most international matches i.e 664. Virat Kohli will be the fourth Indian to play 500 international matches after Indian players Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and MS Dhoni.
Meanwhile right ahead of his special match on Thursday, Kohli expressed his heart out. Board of control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a video ahead of Kohli's 500th International appearance in which the star batter was seen saying,"I'm really grateful. I feel very blessed that I have had such a long journey playing for India and such a long Test career. Because I really had to work hard for it and it makes you feel happy about the hard work that you have put in to see the longevity in the game and the results over the years as well. So, I'm very grateful," said Kohli.
In his 15 years of sensational international career which is infused with umpteen records and milestones, Kohli has amassed more than 25,000 runs across all formats riding on 75 centuries and 131 half-centuries. Kohli is also the first player to have played more than 100 matches for India across all formats (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is).
Not just this, if Kohli manages to score 75 runs in the second Test against West Indies, he will break batting legend Ricky Ponting's record of amassing most runs after 500 international matches. While Ponting scored 25035 runs after 500 international matches, Kohli has so far amassed 25461 runs in 499 international outings. As the 2nd Test of the West Indies is set to happen on July 20, Virat Kohli records the most runs after 499 international matches in his career.
Batters to score most runs after 500 International matches:
Ricky Ponting - Matches- 500, Runs-25035, Average-47.95, Century-68
Sachin Tendulkar - Matches-500, Runs-24874, Average-48.48, Century-75
Jacques Kallis - Matches-500, Runs-24799, Average-50.28, Century-60
Rahul Dravid - Matches-500, Runs-23607, Average-45.57, Century-47
Kumar Sangakkara - Matches-500, Runs-22592, Average-44.73, Century- 47
Mahela Jayawardene - Matches-500, Runs-20223, Average-40.21, Century-44
Sanath Jayasuriya - Matches-500, Runs-18889, Average-35.57, Century-39
MS Dhoni - Matches-500, Runs-16330, Average- 45.11, Century-16
Shahid Afridi - Matches-500, Runs-10889, Average-24.32, Century-11
Virat Kohli - Matches-499*, Runs-25461*, Average-53.48, Century-75
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