Virat Kohli is at it again: the nonsense stats of the ODI GOAT

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Virat Kohli Australia ODI 2019 PA

Virat Kohli is the best ODI batsman ever. It’s technically still an opinion rather than a fact, but it is also objectively and undeniably true.

His hundred in the second one-day international against Australia was the 40th of his career, which is just plain nutty.

Let’s have a look at some of the sillier numbers in Kohli’s ludicrous ODI career.

  • Kohli’s 40 career ODI hundreds put him only nine short of Tendulkar’s record (from 224 games against King Sachin’s 463) and a full 10 clear of anyone else to ever play the game.
  • Indeed, only 12 men can even boast half as many ODI hundreds as Kohli.
  • Kohli has made his 40 ODI hundreds from just 216 innings. The rest of the oft-touted current Big Four – Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Steve Smith – have 33 ODI centuries between them from 346 innings.
  • Kohli already holds the record for most hundreds in run-chases with 24, seven clear of Sachin Tendulkar.
  • Kohli’s average in run-chases of 68.14 is comfortably the best for any player in history with 1000+ runs. AB de Villiers (4204 @ 56.81), Michael Bevan (2882 @ 56.50) and Jonny Bairstow (1100 @ 55) are the only other players at 55 or better.
  • Only Ryan ten Doeschate (1541 @ 67.00) and Imam-ul-Haq (1090 @ 60.55) have scored 1000+ ODI runs at a better average than Kohli’s 10693 @ 59.73.

  • After 224 ODIs, Sachin Tendulkar had 8350 runs at an average of 42.60 and a strike-rate of 86.45, with 23 hundreds and 44 fifties; Kohli has 10693 runs at an average of 59.73 and a strike-rate of 92.61, with 40 hundreds and 49 fifties.
  • In the current World Cup cycle, Kohli has the most runs (4156, next best Rohit Sharma 3625), most hundreds (18, Sharma 15), and best average for any player with 500+ runs (79.92, Ross Taylor 68.85).
  • Since the start of 2018, Kohli’s ODI average and Kohli’s ODI strike-rate are in a thrilling battle. Currently, strike-rate holds a narrow 97.99-97.82 lead.
  • Kohli’s conversion rate from 50 to 100 of 44.94% is comfortably the best of all players with 20 or more ODI hundreds; Herschelle Gibbs is next best on 36.20%.
  • Kohli took 205 innings to reach 10000 ODI runs. Sachin Tendulkar is next best at 259. Nobody else has ever reached even 9000 ODI runs in fewer innings than Kohli took to reach 10k – AB de Villiers took exactly 205 to reach 9000.
  • To become the fastest man to 11000 ODI runs, Kohli needs to score another 307 runs and has just the 59 innings to do so.
  • Kohli has scored 10 centuries in his last 25 ODI innings. Only three players – Joe Root, Eoin Morgan and Marcus Trescothick – have more than 10 ODI centuries for England in their entire careers.
  • Ten ODI centuries is more than the career totals for, among others, Kevin Pietersen, Shane Watson, Steve Smith, Michael Clarke, Stephen Fleming, Javed Miandad, Younis Khan and Mohammad Azharuddin, and the same number as Inzamam-ul-Haq made in 350 innings.

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