Virat Kohli Surpasses Ricky Ponting in All-Time Runs List

Run-machine Virat Kohli once again showed why he is regarded as one of the greatest ever, scoring his 51st ODI century to guide India to a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in their ICC Champions Trophy match held at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

With 100 runs not out off 111 balls, Kohli basically put the finishing touches to the Indian innings which ended with a score of 242 with 45 balls to spare, thus, virtually sealing their place in the semifinals of the tournament.

This match-winning innings is important for India as well as marking a milestone in the history of international cricket. Kohli was able to go past Ricky Ponting on becoming the third-highest run-scorer across formats and implore his place among the greats of the game. At the moment, he has 82 centuries and 142 half-centuries, totaling 27,503 runs in 614 innings at an average of 52.38.

The only batsmen above Kohli on the all time list are Sachin Tendulkar (34,357 runs in 782 innings) and Kumar Sangakkara (28,016 runs in 666 innings). With only 513 runs between him and Sangakkara, Kohli is rapidly closing in on the Sri Lankan legend.

In the meantime, Ponting is fourth with 27,483 runs in 668 innings, behind Mahela Jayawardene (25,957 runs in 725 innings) in fifth position.

Kohli also shatters another record as he completed the fastest international career to hit 14000 runs in ODIs with just 287 innings, erasing the previous record set by Sachin Tendulkar in 350 innings.

With yet another match-winning century to his name, Kohli continues to define cricketing greatness. While India walks toward the knockout stage, the batting maestro is an ever-growing threat to any opposition while setting newer records with each passing innings.