Virat Kohli becomes fastest batter to 25,000 international runs

Virat Kohli became the fastest batter to 25,000 international runs during the second Test against Australia in Delhi.

Feb 19, 2023

India star Virat Kohli on Sunday became the fastest batter to complete 25,000 runs in international cricket when he reached 12 during India's second innings in the Delhi Test against Australia.

Kohli reached the landmark in 549 international matches, going past Sachin Tendulkar (34,437), who achieved the feat in 577 innings.

Ricky Ponting (588), Jacques Kallis (594), Kumar Sangakkara (608) and Mahela Jayawardene follow Virat and Sachin (701) in the exclusive list. Kohli got to the elite club during the second session on Day 3 of the Delhi Test against Australia.

Overall, Kohli became the sixth batsman and 2nd Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to reach 25,000 international runs. Virat Kohli made his debut for India in 2010, and he has been the best batsman across all formats in recent years. Kohli is the fastest to 11,000 ODI runs, with 8131 runs in 105 Tests, including 27 hundred, and 4008 runs in 115 T20Is.

With 34357 runs in 664 matches, Sachin Tendulkar leads the way in international cricket, followed by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (28016 in 594 matches), Australia's Ricky Ponting (27483 runs in 560 matches), Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene (25957 in 652 games), and South Africa's Jacques Kallis (25534 in 519 matches).

Even though Kohli has been in excellent form for India in white-ball cricket in recent months, his red-ball performance fell short of expectations. Kohli has played two Tests against Bangladesh without scoring a fifty or higher since regaining his form in September of last year.