Indian skipper Virat Kohli celebrates his 31st birthday on Tuesday. Born on November 5, 1988, Kohli is hailed as one of the modern-era greats of world cricket regardless of the format in which he is playing. He made his international debut for India the year he led the U-19 national side to World Cup glory. And over the course of 11 years of his career, Kohli scaled new heights with Indian cricket, breaking a plethora of records each time he walked in to bat, which has left him with only fewer milestones to breach before he breaks Sachin Tendulkar's impressive cricketing records. As the skipper turns 31, BCCI paid a special tribute to the Delhi Dasher, by sharing a throwback video of his maiden ODI ton.
"As #TeamIndia Captain @imVkohli turns 31, we take a look back at his maiden ODI hundred and where it all started for the Run Machine. #HappyBirthdayVirat," tweeted BCCI.
Talking about the century, it came against Sri Lanka, the team against which he made his international debut. The year was 2009, and the venue was Kolkata. Batting first, Sri Lanka amassed 315 for six riding on the 118-run knock from Upul Tharanga. India made a nervy start with Suranga Lakmal dismissing the two openers - Sachin and Virender Sehwag. The onus was on Gautam Gambhir and young Kohli to steady the ship. The two stitched an astounding 224-run stand for the third wicket with Gambhir scoring 150 and Kohli notching up his maiden ODI ton en route to his knock of 107 laced with 11 boundaries and a solitary six. India won the match with 11 balls to spare.
10 years hence, Kohli now has 43 centuries in the format, which is only the second-highest in the all-time list after Sachin's 49. Overall, he has scored 11,520 ODI runs in 230 innings at 60.31. His run tally is the eighth highest in the all-time list and the highest among active cricketers. In Tests, Kohli has played 82 Test matches for India and amassed 7066 runs at an average of 54.77 with 26 centuries and 22 fifties. And in T20Is, he has played 72 matches in the format scoring 2450 runs at 50.00 with 22 half-centuries and surprisingly, still no century. Across formats, Kohli has amassed 21,036 runs (eight most in the world) with 69 international tons (third most after Sachin and Ricky Ponting).
