Photo via Hindustan Times

Virat Kohli becomes first player to amass 13000 ODI runs at No. 3 as remarkable batting legacy grows even richer

During the opening fixture of the series at Eden Park, Virat Kohli reached a historic milestone by becoming the first batter in fifty-over international history to accumulate 13,000 runs while batting at the number three position. Needing just twelve runs at the start of his innings to cross the threshold, the star right-hander achieved the feat during his thirteenth delivery after walking to the crease early due to the dismissal of Rohit Sharma.

Kohli surpassed Australia great Ricky Ponting to claim the top spot, achieving the milestone in 251 innings—significantly fewer than Ponting's 330 innings—while maintaining a higher average and securing dozens of centuries at the position. Sachin Tendulkar remains the only player ahead of Kohli for runs at a single batting slot, having amassed over 15,000 runs while opening the innings.

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