Happy birthday Virat Kohli: A record-equaling century & more! Looking back at ex-India captain’s 3 outings on Nov 5
Virat Kohli turned 38th on Thursday (November 5), marking another year of what has been highly successful and statistically rich. The former Indian captain, who plays only ODIs, having retired from Tests and T20Is earlier, made it more special with a match-winning 74 against New Zealand on the eve of his special day in Auckland in the first ODI on Wednesday.
From being amongst the youngest in the locker room to filling the gigantic shoes of the ‘God of Cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar, the journey from breaking records, creating headlines with every stroke to struggling for runs and facing immense media scrutiny, Kohli’s cricketing career has shown the world how one could be a superhuman and a human, at the same time.
As the ‘King’ continues his final phase of his career, with an eye on 2027 50-over World Cup, the 100-century mark of his idol Sachin and some more IPL gold, there is no doubt that the records would continue to pour in as the batter shows no signs of slowing down as an ODI-exclusive superstar.
Notably, Kohli has been on the field thrice in his career on his birthday. While his first two birthdays on the pitch never went as he would have likes, he finally made it count on the third attempt, with a memorable ton during the 2023 ODI World Cup at home against South Africa.
2015 – 1 & 29 vs South Africa (Test)
Kohli’s first birthday on the pitch in international cricket came back in 2015, during the first Test match in Mohali against South Africa. Leading the side at that time, Kohli managed one (first innings) and 29 (second innings). Kagiso Rabada and Stiaan van Zyl were the lucky bowlers.
India rode on Ravindra Jadeja’s all-round show (38 runs, 3/55 & 5/21) to down South Africa inside four days, winning the game by a massive margin of 108 runs.
2021 – 2 not out vs Scotland (T20I)
Kohli had nothing much to do against Scotland after Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Jadeja combined to skittle out the opposition for just 85 in a T20 world Cup match in Dubai. In reply, KL Rahul (50) and Rohit Sharma (30) did most of the work in chase. By the time when both the Indian openers were dismissed, Kohli’s two-run contribution was enough.
2023 – 101 not out vs South Africa (ODI)
The last one of the lot, and the most memorable one for the man himself. Playing on his 35th birthday at a packed Eden Gardens in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Kohli jumped on the platform set by openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. With Shreyas Iyer on his side, Kohli put on 134 runs for the third wicket, to take the game away from the Proteas in Kolkata.
While Iyer missed on a well-deserved hundred, Kohli went on to reach his three figures in the penultimate over of the Indian innings, off 119 deliveries. In the process, it was Kohli 49th hundred, thus equaling with legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli added another hundred to his list during that tournament, thus recording most hundreds in men’s ODIs.
India won the game by 243 runs, after South Africa were bowled out for just 83 in the chase. The Men in Blue went on to reach the final, losing to Australia in Ahmedabad, when it mattered the most.
