Virat Kohli leapfrogs Sachin Tendulkar to become India's leading run-scorer in away ODIs

VIrat Kohli scored 51 off 63 balls in the 1st ODI [Image- Twitter]

Legendary Indian batter Virat Kohli added yet another feather to his crown in the first ODI against South Africa as he overtook Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar to become the leading run-scorer for his country in away games.

Virat achieved the feat when he scored the 9th run of his innings, a nudge to the on-side off Lungi Ngidi for a single. The 33-year-old also leapfrogged former Aussie cricketer Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in away ODIs among all batters.

Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara leads the list with 5518 in 145 innings. He scored those runs at an average of 43.10 with the help of 35 half-centuries and 10 tons.

Virat, on the other hand, has taken just 104 innings to score 5108 runs at a stupendous average of 58.04. He has also scored the highest number of tons in away ODIs: 20.

Meanwhile, Ponting took 129 innings to score 5090 with the help of 32 half-centuries and 12 hundreds.

Most Away ODI Runs For India:

Virat Kohli - 5083 Runs in 104 Innings 👑
S Tendulkar - 5065 Runs in 146 Innings
MS Dhoni - 4520 Runs in 124 Innings

King @imVkohli 😎🔥 https://t.co/mhAt0UPNfx

Tendulkar scored 5065 in 146 innings at an average of 37.24 with 24 50s and 12 100s.

MS Dhoni rounds off the top-5 list with 4520 runs in 124 innings at an average of 50.78 with 37 50s and one hundred.

Virat Kohli scores his 63rd ODI 50 but the wait for the 71st continues

Meanwhile, Kohli continued his stellar form in ODIs as he racked up his 5th 50 in his last six innings. However, the former skipper once again failed to convert it into the elusive 71st ton as he fell to Tabraiz Shamsi in a tame manner immediately after getting past the 50th run.

Performance of Virat Kohli in last 7 ODI innings in South Africa:

112(119)
46*(50)
160*(159)
75(83)
36(54)
129*(96)
51(63)

One of the greatest ever in ODI format.

Kohli wanted to sweep Shamsi but he was beaten by the lack of pace on the ball. By the time the ball arrived, he was already into his shot and, as a result, ended up mistiming it to Temba Bavuma at midwicket.

His wicket came against the run of play as the right-hander had looked in total control throughout his knock. He played his trademark flicks and drives against the pacers and was pretty severe on anything that was pitched short.

Virat Kohli in ODI post World Cup 2019 :-

120 , 114* , 4, 0, 85, 16, 78, 89, 51, 15, 9, 21, 89, 63 , 56 , 66 , 7 , 51

- The 🐐 is also the most consistent ever.

#KingKohli https://t.co/ae7LBxq5hf

The former captain came to the crease after the fall of skipper KL Rahul and proceeded to stitch a brilliant 2nd wicket stand with Shikhar Dhawan, who was playing brilliantly at the other end.

The southpaw scored a 51-ball 50 in what was a typical Dhawan innings: full of square cuts, whips through the on-side and regular changes of strike.

The 92-run partnership was broken by Keshav Maharaj. With Kohli also following suit, the onus was on Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer to steer the Indians through the finish line. However, at the time of writing, India had lost Pant, Shreyas and Venkatesh Iyer in quick succession to slide further.