Virat Kohli breaks yet another Sachin Tendulkar record in World Cup trouncing of Afghanistan

Former Indian skipper now has 2,311 runs in 53 innings in World Cups

Virat Kohli gestures to spectators during the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between India and Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on 11 October (AFP via Getty Images)

Former India captain Virat Kohli has broken yet another record held by Sachin Tendulkar – this time during the side’s eight-wicket trouncing of Afghanistan on Wednesday at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

The former skipper, who has scored a half-century in both of India’s games in the World Cup, has become the all-time top scorer in ICC World Cups (50-over and T20Is), passing Tendulkar’s tally of 2,278 runs.

Kohli now has 2,311 runs in 53 innings in World Cups – T20 and ODI combined.

When the limelight was on current captain Rohit Sharma, who beat Chris Gayle’s record of most sixes in international cricket during his knock of 131 off 84 balls, Kohli played second fiddle. The No 3 batter remained unbeaten on 55 off 56 balls in front of a jam-packed crowd at his home ground in Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.

The 34-year-old cricketer made his World Cup debut in 2011. Team India, under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, had won the tournament by beating Sri Lanka in the final. In his maiden World Cup appearance, Kohli remained 100 not out against Bangladesh in Mirpur.

When it comes to 50-over World Cups, Kohli is just behind Tendulkar in the list of most runs scored by an Indian in the mega tournament.

Tendulkar holds the record for most runs in the multi-team event with 2,278 runs in 44 innings across six editions of the Cricket World Cup. Kohli – playing in his fourth 50-over World Cup – has amassed 1,170 runs in 28 innings.

Meanwhile, Kohli has participated in five T20 World Cups. He is the all-time leading run scorer in the history of the tournament, with 1,141 runs in 27 matches at an incredible average of 81.50.

The Delhi-born cricketer had beaten a previous record held by Tendulkar when he scored 85 in India’s six-wicket win over Australia in their World Cup 2023 opening game last weekend. Kohli surpassed Tendulkar, fondly called “Master Blaster”, in the list for most runs scored by an Indian cricketer in white-ball ICC tournaments.

Tendulkar accumulated an impressive record of 2,719 runs in just 58 innings, while Kohli took 64 innings to surpass that landmark. The one-down batter now has 2,775 runs in 65 innings in ICC limited-overs tournaments, including Cricket World Cup, T20 World Cup and the ODI Champions Trophy.

Tendulkar, however, never had the opportunity to showcase his prowess in T20 World Cups, participating only in the ODI World Cup and ODI Champions Trophy.

Team India has had the perfect start to this year’s World Cup, that they are hosting, by winning both the matches they’ve played. The victories have set a fine momentum ahead of their upcoming big match with rivals Pakistan on 14 October in Ahmedabad.