Happy Birthday Virat Kohli: As King Kohli Turns 34, Here’s a Look at 34 Amazing Facts That Will Blow Your Mind!

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Happy Birthday Virat Kohli: From pulling off incredible match-winning knocks to leading his side to epic wins, Kohli emerged as one of the greatest players ever to don the India jersey

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIRAT KOHLI: Virat Kohli made his international debut in 2008 and since then he has achieved innumerable feats and scripted incredible records.

From pulling off incredible match-winning knocks to leading his side to epic wins, Kohli emerged as one of the greatest players ever to don the India jersey.

As Kohli turns 34 today, it is time explore 34 interesting facts about the former Indian skipper.

Virat Kohli turns 34 today on November 5. (Image: Instagram)

1. Team India, under the leadership of Virat Kohli, lifted the U-19 World Cup back in 2008. The Kohli-led side had defeated South Africa in the final by 12 runs (D/L Method) to win the prestigious World Cup.
2. Kohli made his international debut against Sri Lanka in 2008 during the first ODI in Dambulla.
3. Three years later, Kohli featured in his first Test match against West Indies at Kingston.
4. His first match in T20I was against Zimbabwe in 2010. Kohli scored 26 runs off 21 balls in that game.
5. The star batter notched his maiden international century in 2009 against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. He had played a terrific knock of 107.
6. Kohli is currently the highest run scorer in T20 World Cups. He achieved this sensational feat during a 2022 T20 World Cup match against Bangladesh. Kohli overtook former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene’s record of 1016 runs to register the record.
7. He is also the highest run-scorer in T20Is. He has so far managed to score 3932 runs in the shortest format of the game.
8. Kohli also has eight wickets to his name in international cricket.
9. He was named the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2012.
   Kohli won the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2012. (Image: Instagram)
10. Kohli is the only Indian cricketer to score a century on World Cup debut. He achieved this feat against Bangladesh in the opening match of the 2011 World Cup.
11. On December 19, 2009, 18-year-old Virat Kohli lost his father. To everyone’s surprise, he returned to the pitch the same morning in a Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka and scored a brilliant 90. This reminded many of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who, just days after his father’s death, represented India in a World Cup game against Kenya and smashed 140.
12. In ODIs, Kohli holds the record for the fastest century by an Indian cricketer. Kohli scored a ton in just 52 deliveries against Australia in 2013 to set a new record.
13. He also became the first batsman in Tests to score double hundreds in four consecutive series. Kohli scored four Test double-hundreds against West Indies, England, New Zealand and Bangladesh.
14. Kohli has till now scored 71 centuries in international cricket. Kohli claims the second spot in the list of batters with most hundreds across three formats. Sachin Tendulkar occupies the top spot in the elite list of batters. Sachin bagged 100 centuries across all three formats of the game.
    Virat Kohli shattered a massive ODI record by Sachin Tendulkar at the T20 World Cup 2022, in Australia. (Image: Instagram)
15. Kohli is also the fastest Indian player to cross 1000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000, 10000, 11000 and 12000 run mark in ODIs.
16. He remains to be the fastest batsman to cross the 8000 and 9000 run mark in ODIs.
17. He has the most number of centuries against one particular team in the fifty-over format. Kohli set this record after bagging nine centuries against Australia.
18. Kohli scored 1000 T20I runs in 27 innings back in 2017. He became the fastest batsman to notch 1000 runs in the shortest format of the game.
19. In ODIs, Kohli led Team India on 95 occasions.
20. Kohli became India captain after MS Dhoni stepped down from the position
    On MS Dhoni’s 300th ODI, an emotional Virat Kohli said, “You will always be our captain.”
21. As a captain, Kohli guided India to 65 ODI wins.
22. Kohli has handled the leadership duties of Team India 50 times in T20Is.
23. Indian cricket team, under the captaincy of Kohli, have won 30 matches in T20I cricket.
24. He led Team India 68 times in Test cricket.
25. In the longest format of the game, Kohli has won 40 matches as the captain of India.
26. He captained Team India to the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship.
27. Kohli, with a win percentage of 58.82 is the most successful Test captain in the history of Indian cricket.
28. Kohli was also the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise in IPL from 2013 to 2021.
    Kohli was also the captain of RCB from 2013 to 2021
29. The Indian batter has so far scored 8074 runs in Test cricket and hit 27 centuries along with 28 half-centuries.
30. In ODIs, Kohli has 12344 runs to his name.
31. Kohli has just one century in T20Is.
32. His solitary T20I century occurred against Afghanistan during the 2022 Asia Cup
33. In IPL, he has till now bagged 6624 runs along with five centuries and 44 half-centuries.
    Virat, the Run Machine. (Image: Instagram)
34. Kohli is one of the very few cricketers who has been auctioned only once in the history of IPL.