Published on 04:09 PM, November 10, 2022

Kohli becomes first batter to score 4000 runs in T20Is

India's Virat Kohli (R) hits a boundary as England's wicketkeeper and captain Jos Buttler looks on during the ICC men's Twenty20 World Cup 2022 semi-final cricket match England and India at The Adelaide Oval in Adelaide. Photo: AFP

India's premier batsman Virat Kohl became the first batter in history to score 4000 runs in T20 Internationals. Kohli reached the milestone against England in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Adelaide on Thursday.

Kohli, remarkably, raced to the magnificent milestone while batting at an average of 53.34. He is the only batter in the shortest format to average over 50 and reached the milestone in 115 matches. His achievement became even more special as he played the role of a sheet anchor in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-finals vs England after India were put into bat.

The talismanic batter contributed 50 runs off 40 deliveries to his team's tally in the all-important semi-finals. His innings which enabled India to reach a challenging total of 168/4 was laced with four boundaries and one hit over the fence.

Earlier, against Bangladesh in Adelaide, Kohli became the all-time leading run-scorer in men's T20 World Cups, breaking Mahela Jayawardene's 2014 record of 1016 runs. Kohli needed 42 runs to surpass 4000 T20I runs and did so with a boundary off Adil Rashid in the 15th over of India's innings.

The Indian star batter was the only cricketer to be named Player of the Tournament in both the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups. Kohli has also amassed the most runs in T20I cricket history. He is ahead of skipper Rohit Sharma, Martin Guptill, Babar Azam, and Paul Stirling on the list. Kohli has a strike rate of around 140 and an average of more than 50 right now.

Kohli is also the leading scorer in the T20 World Cup 2022, having scored over 296 runs in six matches. Even while openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul failed to get going consistently, the star batter has served as an anchor for India's batting line-up. 

The former Indian captain bailed India out of trouble in their Super 12 opener against Pakistan in Melbourne with a stunning 53-ball 82 not out and went on to score two more fifties in the competition.