Kohli turns 139 into another record day

Virat Kohli made 139 not out from 88 balls as India beat West Indies by eight wickets in the first ODI at Thiruvananthapuram on September 27. The chase took 41.4 overs. West Indies made 295/7; India finished on 300/2, with Shubman Gill adding 110 from 108 balls. Kohli and Gill put on 151 for the second wicket — a partnership that made the target look less like a target and more like administrative paperwork.

The innings gave Kohli his 55th ODI century and took him past 15,000 ODI runs, making him the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to reach the mark, according to the ICC. NDTV and India Today also reported that Kohli had equalled Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 13 international centuries against West Indies. That is an all-international-cricket comparison, not an ODI-only record.

Reports also put Kohli’s route to 15,000 ODI runs at 303 innings, against Tendulkar’s 377, and said he had become India’s highest ODI run-scorer at home. Those statistical claims were not independently verified from a primary record in the material reviewed. The scoreboard, however, was quite clear: India won, and Kohli remained unbeaten.