Senior batsman Virat Kohli added another feather to his already illustrious cap when he became India’s greatest run-scorer in ICC Champions Trophy history during the semi-final against Australia at Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.
Kohli surpassed former India opener Shikhar Dhawan’s record of 701 runs in ten games from 2013 to 2017. Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain, is India’s third-highest scorer in the competition, with 665 runs in 13 matches between 1998 and 2004.
The 36-year-old achieved the milestone during India’s pursuit of 265. Kohli accomplished this accomplishment in his 17th Champions Trophy match for India. He also scored his 74th ODI half-century in the match, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most fifty-plus runs in ICC ODI tournaments. Kohli currently has 24 fifty-plus scores in 58 innings, while the famous hitter had 23 in 58 innings in ICC ODIs.
Kohli has already scored a match-winning century against archrivals Pakistan in Dubai, and he has now continued his form into the knockout round with a superbly composed knock following the early dismissals of openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma.
Coming back to the match, Australia skipper Steve Smith top-scored for the side with a knock of 73 runs while Alex Carey amassed 61 before India bowled out the ODI world champions for 264 in 49.3 overs.
For India, Mohammed Shami bagged three scalps while Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakaravarthy grabbed two wickets each.