India vs England: Virat Kohli could join Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis in elite list in 1st ODI
The first ODI will take place on Tuesday at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, and Kohli can join batting legends Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and Jacques Kallis in an elite ODI list.
India captain Virat Kohli is in sensational form with the bat at the moment. The right-hander smashed 231 runs in five T20Is against England at an average of 115.5 and a strike rate of 147.13. His innings of 80* in 52 balls in the series decider helped India set up a mammoth target of 225 for England to chase.
Now, as the two teams gear up for the three-match ODI series, Kohli is on cusp of achieving a major feat in the 50-overs format.
The first ODI will take place on Tuesday at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, and Kohli can join batting legends Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and Jacques Kallis in an elite ODI list.
Kohli is 135 runs away from becoming the 4th batsman to complete 5,000 ODI runs at home after Tendulkar (6976), Ponting (5406), and Kallis (5178). Currently, the India captain has 4,865 runs at home.
Though, it must be noted that it has been one year and 122 days since Kohli has scored a century in international cricket. His last ton was in the Day/Night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on November 23, 2019.
It has also been 1 year and 222 days since Kohli scored a century in the 50-overs format. His last ODI hundred was against Australia at Ranchi on March 8th, 2019.
Meanwhile, speaking to the reporters ahead of the first ODI at a virtual press conference, Kohli said more attention need to be given to players' mental health.
"The players need to be spoken to and consulted with all round," Kohli said. "Otherwise it's going to be a case of whoever can last through difficult times like this plays, if not then move away and someone else replaces that player. I don't think that's healthy for a cricket system and cricket culture moving forward which we definitely want to make stronger and stronger."
