Indian batting stalwart reaches landmark in 315 innings during West Indies ODI chase in Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 2026 : India batting stalwart Virat Kohli on Sunday became only the second men's batter after Sachin Tendulkar to cross the 15,000-run mark in One-Day International cricket, achieving the milestone during India's chase of 296 against the West Indies in the opening ODI of the series.
Kohli reached the landmark in the 29th over in typically emphatic fashion. Facing West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph, the 37-year-old right-hander swivelled and pulled a short delivery towards deep midwicket, sending the ball racing to the boundary. The shot triggered loud applause from the crowd at the Greenfield International Stadium.
Kohli paused briefly to acknowledge the achievement, raising his bat towards the stands. He then exchanged a glove punch and a hug with India ODI captain Shubman Gill before returning his focus to the chase, with India still requiring further runs to complete the target.
Kohli reached 15,000 ODI runs in just 315 innings after making his international debut in the format against Sri Lanka in August 2008. Tendulkar had reached the same milestone in his 350th innings in 2007 and eventually finished his ODI career with 18,426 runs from 463 matches.
The achievement also makes Kohli the fastest batter to reach 15,000 runs in ODI cricket. Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara is the only other batter to have crossed the 14,000-run mark, with 14,234 runs. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting follows with 13,704, while Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya accumulated 13,430.
The latest milestone adds to Kohli's remarkable record of reaching major ODI landmarks at a faster rate than his predecessors. He became the fastest player to 10,000 ODI runs in 2018, reaching the mark in 205 innings. He had moved from 9,000 to 10,000 runs in only 11 innings.
Kohli also holds the record for being the quickest batter to reach 8,000, 9,000, 11,000, 12,000, 13,000 and 14,000 runs in men's ODI cricket.
His career has also seen him surpass several of Tendulkar's long-standing batting records. During the 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, Kohli scored his 50th ODI century, moving past Tendulkar's record of 49 hundreds.
Kohli has since taken his ODI century tally to 54, the highest number of hundreds by any batter in a single international format. No other player has reached 35 centuries in men's ODI cricket.
The 15,000-run milestone further underlines Kohli's longevity and consistency in the 50-over format. His latest achievement came as India began its pursuit of the West Indies' 296-run target in Thiruvananthapuram, with the veteran continuing to add to an already record-filled ODI career.
