Virat Kohli overtakes Shikhar Dhawan as India's top run-scorer in ICC Champions Trophy history

New Delhi: Virat Kohli made history in the semi-final match against Australia in Dubai on Tuesday by becoming India’s highest run-scorer in Champions Trophy history. In addition to this achievement, Kohli also reached the milestone of scoring 8000 runs in One Day Internationals (ODIs) while chasing targets. He reached this remarkable figure when he scored 21 runs during a challenging 265-run chase. At 36 years old, Kohli accomplished the 8000-run feat in just his 159th innings while batting second in ODIs throughout his 301-match career. His consistent performance and determination have cemented his position as one of the greatest cricket players of all time.

Kohli scored 84 runs off 98 balls as India secured a spot in their fifth Champions Trophy final with a four-wicket victory. They matched their highest-ever run chase in the Champions Trophy, reaching 265 runs to overtake Australia and advance to the final on Sunday.

Virat Kohli has become only the second player in history to achieve 8000 runs in One Day Internationals (ODIs) while chasing, following Sachin Tendulkar, who tops the list with 8720 runs from 232 innings. India’s captain Rohit Sharma is third on the list with 6115 runs. Renowned for his ability to chase down targets, Kohli has scored 28 of his 51 centuries in ODIs while batting second. His record for centuries in run-chases is the highest globally, significantly surpassing Tendulkar’s 17 centuries and Rohit’s 16 centuries.

More than 70 percent of Virat Kohli’s runs scored while chasing (5913*) have led to wins, marking the highest success rate for any batsman in this format. Notably, Kohli achieved his quickest ODI century in just 52 balls during India’s record successful run-chase (362/1) against Australia in Jaipur in 2013.

Just before reaching his 50th run, Kohli exceeded Shikhar Dhawan’s record of 701 runs to become India’s leading run-scorer in the Champions Trophy, marking his fourth participation in the tournament since 2009. He is now the fourth player to achieve over 700 runs in the Champions Trophy, following Chris Gayle (791), Mahela Jayawardena (742), and Dhawan. During India’s successful 2013 campaign in England, Kohli accumulated 176 runs across five innings, including an important 43 runs in the final against the host team.

In a previous league-stage match against Pakistan, Kohli achieved his 51st ODI century and set a record as the fastest player to accumulate 14,000 ODI runs, surpassing both Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.