IND vs NZ: On one hand, making a ton has never been an easy task for any batter, whereas India has been lucky to have Sachin Tendulkar in the past, who made 100 international centuries. Now, the current generation is glued to Virat Kohli, who has been rock solid for the Indian team with a total of 80 centuries. On top of that, he has half centuries of centuries in ODIs. But did you know when Virat Kohli scored his 50th ODI century?
Now, since New Zealand is coming to India for a three-test match series, and we are looking back at some exciting India vs New Zealand matches. There is no doubt that one of the most memorable games was last year in 2023 when India played a thrilling World Cup semifinal against New Zealand. Virat Kohli stood tall once more and made his 50th ODI century, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s record in this format, and that too at the Master Blaster’s home ground, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Virat Kohli 50th century
As mentioned, it came against the Kiwis, and that too in a big game. Virat Kohli’s 117 runs have been remembered by many for various good reasons. If we look at it from a statistical viewpoint, Virat Kohli became the first batter in the history of the game to score 50 ODI centuries, with 42 coming in wins, 7 in losses, and 1 in a tie. Also, Virat achieved this feat in his 279th match, while Tendulkar required 452 to reach 49 centuries.
From a game perspective, Rohit Sharma initially played well, followed by Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and then KL Rahul, all of whom cruised well and posted 397 runs. It was Mohammed Shami’s redemption as he took 7 wickets, cleaning up the Kiwis, and India won the game by 70 runs.
Virat Kohli vs New Zealand in Tests
Speaking more about Virat, he also needs a touch in Test cricket. His performance in the Test against Bangladesh didn’t go well for him, and he will surely be looking to redeem himself in the upcoming New Zealand Test series. Against the Black Caps, the former captain has an incredible record to date; even in Tests, he has performed impressively well with 11 games and more than 800 runs. He will surely look to add more to that.
| Matches | Runs | Average | Centuries | Half-Centuries |
| 11 | 866 | 45.57 | 3 | 3 |
Virat Kohli vs New Zealand
| Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 0s |
| 52 | 62 | 6 | 2822 | 211 | 50.39 | 3549 | 79.51 | 9 | 14 | 2 |
