DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Cricket great Virat Kohli became the fastest batter and third man to reach 14,000 runs in one-day international cricket on Sunday, before going on to hit a record-extending 51st century in the ODI format.
Kohli started the day on 13,985 runs and was batting in his 287th innings in India's Group A game against Pakistan at the Champions Trophy.
He powered the chase to finish on 100 not out — hitting the winning boundary — as India beat Pakistan by six wickets with 45 balls remaining.
“We lost Rohit (Sharma) early and my job was to control the middle overs against spin without taking too many risks," Kohli said. "It allowed me to play my usual ODI game.”
India's Sachin Tendulkar was the previous quickest batter to reach 14,000 ODI runs, taking 350 innings. Tendulkar still tops the overall ODI runs scored with 18,426 in 452 innings. Another retired batting great, Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara, finished his career with 14,234 runs in 380 innings.
Arch rivals India and Pakistan played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium despite Pakistan hosting the tournament because India is playing its league games – and potential knockout matches – in the United Arab Emirates.
___
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
The Associated Press
