Top 10 records Virat Kohli broke in 2023
The year 2023 was a spectacular one for Virat Kohli. He finished as the second-leading run-getter of the year in international cricket, smashing 2,048 runs in 36 innings at an average of 66.06 with the aid of eight hundreds and 10 fifties. Shubman Gill (2,154) was the only other batter to score over 2,000 runs in international cricket in 2023.
Kohli was also the second-leading run-getter in ODIs in 2023. In 24 innings, he notched up 1377 runs at an average of 72.47 and a strike rate of 99.13 with six hundreds and eight fifties. His highest ODI score of 166* in the year was registered against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram in January.
The 35-year-old also featured in eight Test matches, scoring 671 runs at an average of 55.91 with two hundreds and as many fifties. He ended the year with a valiant half-century against South Africa in the Centurion Test.
During the last 12 months, the former India captain rewrote several records. As 2023 draws to a close, we look at some of the prominent records broken by Kohli in the year.
#1 Most runs in an edition of the Men's ODI World Cup
Kohli had a remarkable ODI World Cup campaign at home. In 11 matches, he amassed 765 runs at an average of 95.62 and a strike rate of 90.31 with three hundreds and six fifties.
His tally is a new record for the most runs scored in a single edition of the Men’s ODI World Cup, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s 673 runs in the 2003 edition.
#2 First player to score 50 ODI tons
During his knock of 117 off 113 balls in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Kohli broke Tendulkar’s long-standing record of most ODI tons.
The Master Blaster finished his career with 49 ODI hundreds from 463 matches. Kohli’s century against the Kiwis in Mumbai was his 50th in the ODI format. The knock was even more special since Tendulkar was in attendance at the Wankhede Stadium.
#3 First player to score 2,000 international runs in seven different calendar years
In 2023, Kohli also became the first player to score 2,000 international runs in seven different calendar years. He surpassed Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara, who had achieved the feat six times.
As mentioned earlier, Kohli ended 2023 with 2,048 runs. He also scored over 2000 international runs in 2012 (2186 runs), 2014 (2,286 runs), 2016 (2,595 runs), 2017 (2,818 runs), 2018 (2,735 runs), and 2019 (2,455 runs).
#4 Fastest to 26,000 international runs
In October this year, Kohli became the fastest batter to notch up 26,000 international runs. The 35-year-old reached the landmark in his 567th innings during the World Cup match against Bangladesh in Pune.
He ended up scoring 103* in India’s seven-wicket triumph. Tendulkar needed 600 innings to score 26,000 international runs.
#5 Fastest to 13,000 ODI runs
In 2023, Kohli also became the fastest batter to reach 13,000 ODI runs. He achieved the landmark during the Asia Cup Super 4 match against Pakistan in Colombo, smashing 122* off 94.
The 35-year-old needed 267 innings to score 13,000 ODI runs breaking Tendulkar’s record, who got there in 321 innings. Ricky Ponting (341 innings) is third on the illustrious list.
#6 Kohli broke the record for most 1000-run years in ODIs
He also broke Tendulkar’s record for most 1,000-run years in ODIs in 2023. Kohli achieved the feat during his knock of 88 off 94 balls in the World Cup match against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
This was the eighth time Kohli had scored 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year. Before 2023, he had scored 1,000-plus runs in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Tendulkar had scored 1,000 or more ODI runs in a calendar year seven times.
#7 Most hundreds in the IPL
In 2023, Kohli also broke the record for most hundreds by a batter in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He notched up his seventh ton in the T20 league when he scored 101* off 61 balls for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Bengaluru.
He had equaled Chris Gayle’s record of six IPL tons in RCB’s previous match against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) when he clubbed 100 off 63 in Hyderabad. During the edition, he also became the first player to cross the 7,000-run mark in the tournament.
#8 Most 50+ scores in a single ODI World Cup
Kohli broke the record for the most 50-plus scores in a single edition of the ODI World Cup when he notched up a century in the semi-final against New Zealand. This was his eighth 50-plus score in the tournament, breaking the previous record of seven jointly held by Tendulkar (2003) and Shakib Al Hasan (2019).
Kohli went on to make it nine 50-plus scores in the 2023 World Cup with a half-century in the final.
#9 Fastest player to hit 75 international tons
When Kohli scored 186 against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, he became the fastest batter to hit 75 international tons.
The former India captain needed 552 innings to reach the landmark. Tendulkar, the only other batter with more than 75 international hundreds, got to the landmark in 566 innings.
#10 Most international runs by an Indian batter in South Africa
In his last innings of 2023 for India, Kohli broke a significant record held by Tendulkar. The right-handed batter hit a sublime 76 off 82 balls in the second innings of the Centurion Test even as India succumbed to defeat by an innings and 32 runs.
During his knock, Kohli became the Indian batter with most international runs in South Africa. He now has 1,786 runs to his name across formats in the Rainbow Nation from 35 innings.
Tendulkar had scored 1,724 runs in 51 innings.