Virat
Kohli – Shining Indian Cricketing Star
ViratKohli (born 5
November 1988) is an Indian cricketer. He is a middle-order batsman, who can
also open the batting. He can also bowl right arm medium pace. Kohli was the captain of the victorious Indian team
at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia. He represents Delhi in first-class cricket and is the captain of
the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise in the Indian Premier League. He also played for the
West Delhi Cricket Academy. He also holds the record for the fastest century by
an Indian batsman. Virat became the fastest to 17 hundreds in ODI by any
batsman and he became the fourth batsman in ODIs after Sourav Ganguly (1997-2000), Sachin Tendulkar (1996-98) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2007–09) to hit 1000
or more ODI runs in three or more consecutive calendar years. He also holds the
record for most centuries in chases with 11 centuries only behind Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli is the first
batsman to make five successive scores of 50 or more in ODIs on two separate
occasions.
Kohli made his One Day International (ODI) debut in 2008 and
was part of the Indian team which won the 2011 World Cup. Despite being a
regular in the ODI side, Kohli only played his first Test in 2011 against West Indies in Kingston. But on the
disastrous 2011/12 India tour of Australia, in which India's senior batsmen
struggled throughout, Kohli stood out, scoring his first Test hundred in
Adelaide.
Kohli was the recipient
of the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2012 SportsPro has rated him the 13th most marketable athlete in
the world. In October 2013, against Australia, Kohli smashed the
fastest ODI century by an Indian, the seventh fastest ever. In November 2013,
he became the top ranked ODI batsman for the first time.
1. Kohli scored his maiden ODI ton, 107
runs off 114 balls against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in 2009 
2. Unbeaten 102 runs off 92 balls against Bangladesh at Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium Mirpur, Bangladesh.
3. 118 runs off 121 balls against Australia at
ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam, India
4. 105 runs off 104 BALLS against New Zealand at Nehru Stadium in Guwahati, India
5. Unbeaten 100 runs off just 83 balls against Bangladesh at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh
6. 107 runs off 93 balls against England at SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, Wales
7. Unbeaten 112 runs off 98 balls at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi,
8. 117 runs off 123 balls against West Indies at ACA-VDCA Stadium in Vishakapatnam, India
9. Unbeaten 133 runs off 86 balls against Sri Lanka at Bellerive Oval in Hobart, Australia
10. 108 runs off 120 balls against Sri Lanka at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh
11. 183 runs off 148 balls against Pakistan at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh
12. 106 runs off 113 balls against Sri Lanka at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota.
13. Reached his century off 107 balls against Sri Lanka in the 4th ODI match played at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
14. 102 runs off 83 balls vs West Indies in a
do-or-die match played at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad.
15. Reached his century off 102 balls against
Zimbabwe in the 1st ODI match played at Harare Sports Club.
16. Scored 100 runs off just 52 balls - the
fastest century by an Indian in ODIs against Australia in the 2nd ODI match
played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
17. 115 runs off just 66 balls in the 6th ODI
match against Australia played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in
Nagpur.
His Personal life
ViratKohli was born on 5
November 1988 in Delhi to Prem and SarojKohli. He has an elder brother,
Vikash, and an elder sister, Bhavna. Kohli attended school at Vishal Bharti and
Savier Convent. His father, Prem, worked as a lawyer and died in December 2006.
Little is known of Kohli's personal life.
Early Stage of career
The West Delhi Cricket
Academy was created in 1998 and Kohli was part of its first intake. Kohli first
came into the spotlight when he played for Delhi in a Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka on the day of his
father's death. Choosing to stay and bat, he went on to score 90 runs. MithunManhas, the team's captain, remarked that "That is an
act of great commitment to the team and his innings turned out to be
crucial"
Kohli captained the
victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia Batting at number 4, he scored 235 runs in 6 matches
at an average of 47, including a century against the West Indies U-19s. He was
also commended for making several tactical bowling changes during the
tournament. His mother noted that "Virat changed a bit after that day.
Overnight he became a much more matured person. He took every match seriously.
He hated being on the bench. It's as if his life hinged totally on cricket
after that day."
Kohli was instrumental
in India's win of the 2009 Emerging Players Tournament in Australia. In the final against South Africa, Kohli scored a
century and India went on to win the game by 17 runs. Kohli emerged as the
leading run scorer of the tournament, aggregating 398 runs from seven matches
including two centuries and two fifties.
International career
Following a hundred in
the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia in 2008, Kohli was selected in the
ODI squad for India's tour of Sri Lanka in 2008. Kohli made his debut in One Day Internationals against Sri Lanka in
the Idea Cup in 2008 when both Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag were injured. He opened the batting in the first
match, and was dismissed for 12. But he made a crucial 37 in a low-scoring
second match in the series, which helped India win and level the series. He
made his first half-century, a score of 54, in the fourth match which helped
India win the series. This was India's first ODI series win against Sri Lanka
in Sri Lanka. He was included in the squad for the home ODI series against
England later that same year but was not given a chance to play, due to the
inclusion of Tendulkar and Sehwag in team. Kohli was then dropped from the
squad for the five-match ODI series in Sri Lanka against Sri Lanka in January
2009.
Kohli played in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy after Yuvraj Singh was injured, and since mid-2009 has been the reserve
ODI batsman. Yuvraj regained fitness for the home series against Australia, so
Kohli only played in occasional matches in the series.
In the absence of the
injured Yuvraj, Kohli got a chance to play in the 4th ODI when Sri Lanka toured
India in December 2009. He scored his first ODI century, milking singles with GautamGambhir with whom he shared a
224-run partnership for the third wicket as India won by seven wickets to seal
the series 3–1.
Senior batsman Sachin
Tendulkar was rested for the tri-nations tournament in Bangladesh in January
2010 which enabled Kohli to play in each of India's five matches. After making
nine in the opening loss to Sri Lanka, he top-scored with 91 to help secure a
win after India collapsed early in their run chase against Bangladesh on 7
January 2010. He then ended unbeaten on 71 to help win the match for India with
a bonus point after they chased down their target quickly. The next day, he
scored his second ODI century, against Bangladesh, bringing up the mark with
the winning runs. He was much praised for his performances during the
tournament, and became only the third Indian to score two ODI centuries before
their 22nd birthday, following the footsteps of Tendulkar and Suresh Raina. However, in the final against Sri Lanka, he made
only two as India collapsed to 5/60 and an eventual four-wicket defeat.
Kohli was named
vice-captain of the ODI side for the tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe
in Zimbabwe in June 2010 as all the other first-choice players skipped the
tournament. In the same series, he became the fastest Indian to score 1,000
runs in ODI cricket. He was India's leading run-scorer in 2010, with 995 runs
from 25 matches at an average of 47.38 with three centuries.
Kohli was included in
the Indian squad for Zimbabwe T20I series in June-2010. Kohli made T20I debut
in the first match where he played an impressive innings with Yusuf Pathan,
when Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina were dismissed by Ray Price in the eighth
over. Pathan and Kohli counterattacked and took India to an easy win in the
15th over. Since then, he has been a regular member in T20I matches for India.
2011 Cricket World Cup
Kohli was preferred over
Raina for the 2011 World Cup and became the first
Indian to score a century on World Cup debut. He also scored 59 against West Indies while sharing a 122-run
patnership with Yuvraj Singh. His 83-run partnership
for the third wicket with GautamGambhir was instrumental in India taking the upper hand
during their run chase against Sri Lanka in the final. He made 282 runs in 9
innings at an average of 35.25. Between 1 January 2009 and 1 September 2011,
Kohli was India's second highest run-scorer in ODIs with 1,994 runs at an
average of 47.47.
Test debut
When India toured the
West Indies in June and July 2011, they chose a largely inexperienced squad, resting
Tendulkar and others such as GautamGambhir and VirenderSehwag missing out due to injuries. Kohli was one of three
uncapped players in the Test squad. India won the Test series 1–0 but Kohli
struggled on his debut in the format; he struggled with the short ball amassing
just 76 runs from five innings. Particularly troublesome for Kohli was the fast
bowling of Fidel Edwards, who dismissed him
three times in the series.
India tour of England in 2011
Initially dropped from
the Test squad for India's four-match series against England in July and August, Kohli was recalled as cover for the injured Yuvraj Singh, though did not play in the series. He played in the
subsequent ODI series, scoring 194 runs from five innings including a century,
although India lost the series 3–0. In October, England faced India in a return
ODI series in India. India won 5–0 and Kohli was the highest run-scorer on
either side with 270 across five matches and a highest score of 112 not out.
West Indies tour of India in 2011
In November–December
2011, the West Indies toured India for three Tests and five ODIs. Following his ODI success against England the
previous month, Kohli was included in the Test squad ahead of Raina. In
competition with Yuvraj Singh for the number six position, it was not until the
final match of the series that Kohli was selected in the team. The match ended
in a draw, and having won the first two Tests, India took the series 2–0; Kohli
scored a pair of fifties in the match, passing his previous highest score of
30. India won the subsequent ODI series 4–1 and Kohli managed 243 runs at an
average of 60.75 with a highest score of 117.
Australia Test series and CB series 2012
Kohli was included in
India's squad for the tour of Australia in December 2011. After the first Test at Melbourne, he felt his position
in the team was in jeopardy, and during the second Test at Sydney, Kohli was
fined half of his match fee for swearing at fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground who were insulting him.
In an interview after the incident, he remarked "Scoring eight hundreds in
one-day internationals can't be a fluke. It's international cricket as well. I
don't know why people have been questioning my technique or temperament so
much. ... All of this is a learning curve for me. I am playing on difficult
wickets, in Australia." Kohli top scored in each of India's innings in the
third Test at Perth, with 44 and 75, and in the fourth and final match at
Adelaide, Kohli scored his maiden Test century of 116 runs in the first
innings; it was the only century scored by an Indian in the series. India lost
the series 4–0 and Kohli was the top scorer for India in the same series.
India remained in
Australia for the triangular ODI series, that followed the
Tests; it was contested by Australia, Sri Lanka and India. Kohli was
India's leading run-scorer in the series scoring 373 runs with two half
centuries and a century – again, the only century scored by an Indian in the
series. Though India did not progress to the final, the victory against Sri
Lanka in India's last match kept them in contention until the final fixture of
the group stage. Chasing 321 to win, Kohli came to the crease with India's
score at 86/2 and went on to score 133 not out from 86 balls to take India to a comfortable win
with 13 overs to spare. He was named Man of the Match for his effort, which included
scoring 24 runs from an over by Lasith Malinga.
2012 Asia Cup
He was named
vice-captain of the ODI team for the 2012 Asia Cup in March. He scored 183 off 148 balls against
Pakistan in the fifth match of Asia Cup 2012, recording the joint-fourth
highest score by an Indian in ODIs. Coming in at 0/1, he struck 22 fours and a
six to take India to a record chase of 330. This is his highest score in ODIs
and the highest individual score in the Asia Cup. Kohli's innings is the
highest individual innings for a batsman against Pakistan in aODI surpassing previous
record by Brian Lara (156).
New Zealand tour of India in 2012
Kohli made 212 runs in
the two Test matches including a century and two half-centuries at an average
of 106. In the second Test at Bangalore, Kohli scored his second Test century.
He made 103 runs with 14 boundaries and one six in the first innings. In the
second innings, he made 51* runs and was awarded Man of the Match.
2013
2013 ICC Champions Trophy
Kohli was included in
the 15-man squad for the tournament. He played in the warm-up match against Sri
Lanka and scored 144 runs off 120 balls at a strike rate of 120 and led India to
victory.
West Indies Triangular Series in 2013
Dhoni got injured in
first match of triangular series so kohli lead the team in the remaining
matches. He became first time captain of Indian ODI team.
Indian cricket team in Zimbabwe in 2013
Dhoni and other senior
players were rested during Indian tour of Zimbabwe, so Kohli was given the
honor to lead the team. India won the series 5-0. During the series, Virat
played tremendous innings scoring 197 runs in 5 ODIs.
IPL career
He is one of those
player who have not changed their 1st team like Sachin Tendulkar
Kohli's record in
Twenty20 matches
| ||||||
Matches
|
Runs
|
HS
|
100s
|
50s
|
Avg.
| |
T20I[53]
|
21
|
587
|
78*
|
0
|
4
|
34.52
|
IPL[54]
|
93
|
2273
|
99
|
0
|
14
|
31.56
|
CLT20[55]
|
15
|
424
|
84*
|
0
|
2
|
38.54
|
2008 Season
Kohli played for Royal Challengers Bangalore at the 2008 Indian Premier League. He was bought for
$30,000 before the first season in 2008. He scored 165 runs in 13 innings at an
average of 15 and took 2 wickets with his bowls.He scored a total of four 6's
and an 18 4's in that season.His highest score was 38.He had an average 15.00
2009 Season
He scored 246 runs in 16
innings with an average of 22.36 and took 9 catches and effected 2 run outs.He
scored a total of eight 6's and twenty-two 4's .His highest score was a 50
2010 Season
In the third season, he
scored 307 runs, including two half centuries, in 16 innings at an average of
27.90. In the fourth season of the IPL, he was the only player that Royal Challengers Bangalore retained, preferred
over the likes of Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ross Taylor.His highest score was 58.He scored a total of
twenty-six 4's and 12 6's.
2011 Season
He scored 557 runs with
an average of 46.61.He took two wickets that season.His highest score was 71.He
scored a total of 55 4's and 16 6's. His highest score was 71 . He had 4 half
centuries that season.He was top run scorer behind Chris Gayle.
2012 Season
The 2012 Indian Premier League followed in April and
May and Kohli scored 364 runs fron 16 matches, with two half-centuries. He
scored 33 4's and 10 6's.His highest score was 73 not out.His average was 28.00
2013 Season
He was named the captain
of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team for the sixth season. He led his team
to fifth position in the league table. He scored 634 runs at an average of
45.28. He hit sixty-four 4's and 22 6's.
Source - espncricinfo.com
