What records did Virat Kohli break during his innings against the West Indies?

Virat Kohli broke several records, including becoming the second player to score 15,000 ODI runs, achieving this milestone in the fastest time. He also became the only player to score 7,000 ODI runs in India, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's record.

Why does Virat Kohli downplay comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar?

Kohli believes that Sachin Tendulkar's impact on cricket transcends numbers and comparisons, stating that Tendulkar will always hold a special place in the sport's history, which he finds difficult to compare with his own achievements.

How does Virat Kohli maintain his performance at this stage of his career?

Kohli emphasizes understanding his game and staying physically fit over extensive practice. He focuses on mental freshness and execution under pressure, which he believes are key to his longevity and performance.

Shubman Gill staunchly backs his seasoned batter Virat Kohli after thrashing West Indies: ‘You just let him be’

Kohli scored his 55th ODI century on Sunday and became the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to score 15,000 runs in the format.

Updated on: Sep 28, 2026, 14:25:50 IST

Written by Prateek Srivastava

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Virat Kohli scored 139 not out off 88 balls against the West Indies to guide India to an easy 8-wicket victory in Kerala on Sunday, and he is back receiving extraordinary praises. India captain Shubman Gill, who also scored a century in the match as the hosts chased down 296 with 50 balls to spare, was happy with the way Kohli batted against the Caribbean team.

India's Virat Kohli celebrates his half century with skipper Shubman Gill during the 1st ODI. (ANI Pic Service)

Also Read: Why Virat Kohli thinks comparisons with Tendulkar make no sense: ‘For me, Sachin paaji will always be Sachin paaji’

In the last couple of years, Kohli, along with Rohit Sharma, has always been under scrutiny. Last year, when he scored back-to-back ducks in Australia, the clamour for his head reached an unprecedented level. But then he scored 70-odd in the final game to calm his critics down a bit. Then India played South Africa and New Zealand at home, and he piled on the runs in those series.

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Kohli is always a contributor but his innings in India are bigger and much more impactful. The same can’t be said when he plays overseas, though he keeps getting runs. In three ODIs against England, he got scores of 65 and 74 in the second and third ODIs — having failed in the first with 5 — but the team lost both the games and the series. Now he is back in India, and he is back among big runs and back among big praise.

‘He is enjoying his game a lot more’

Gill and Kohli added 151 runs for the second wicket to push the West Indies totally out of the contest. The Indian captain, of course, saw Kohli’s exploits from the best seat in the house — from the non-striker’s end — and he was quite pleased with what he saw. “He is enjoying the game a lot more, playing with freedom and enjoying the game and those are the effects of his batting. He always had the game, he always had the ability to clear the boundary at will, and I think he's doing that right now,” Gill said.

Gill, although he didn’t say in as many words, backed Kohli and didn’t want his seasoned batter to be under continual scrutiny. Kohli, who on Sunday became the second batter to score 15,000 in ODIs after Sachin Tendulkar (18,426), wants to go on till the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, and he should feel good that he has his captain’s support.

“Someone like him who's won so many matches for the country, who's done it over and over again, you just let him be, and you just want him to play however he feels like on the day, because when he plays well, he can win matches for you,” Gill added.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Prateek Srivastava
Prateek Srivastava is a senior sports journalist having been in the profession for two decades now. He started his print career with the India Today Group and later also worked for the Asian Age. In 2009, sensing the wind of change, he switched to the digital media and joined Mobile ESPN. There, he covered the 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2010 Hockey World Cup as a venue reporter. He did plenty of voice-over work too, over there. After leaving Mobile ESPN, Prateek went on to work for Cricketnext, Gocricket and Cricbuzz. At Gocricket (Times Internet Limited), he covered the 2014 T20 World from Bangladesh. There he also received a team leadership award, given at the end of the month. Prateek has also covered the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, this time working for Sportz Interactive. He also worked for Chinese giants Alibaba over two years and led their ""Short News"" content team at UC Browser. While cricket is Prateek’s expertise, he has also done a lot of golf. In fact, he has covered India’s first two European Tour events back in the late noughties. He has also done extensive writing on football having been associated with the Indian Super League for three seasons. Finally, Prateek is a literature aficionado and swears by Philip Roth and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and when he doesn’t joke, he is usually quiet and at work.Read More

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