Virat Kohli targets twin ODI milestones as West Indies series begins

Kohli returns to his favourite ODI opponent

Virat Kohli will return to ODI cricket when India begin their three-match series against West Indies on September 27, with two major milestones within reach.

Kohli has scored 2,261 runs in 43 ODIs against West Indies at an average of 66.50, including nine centuries and 11 fifties. Another hundred would make him the first batter in ODI history to score 10 centuries against two different opponents, having already reached double figures against Sri Lanka.

A record that began in Visakhapatnam

West Indies were the opponents when Kohli crossed 10,000 ODI runs in Visakhapatnam on October 24, 2018. He made an unbeaten 157 from 129 balls, his 37th ODI century, and reached the landmark in 205 innings—well ahead of Sachin Tendulkar’s previous record of 259 innings.

That innings remains Kohli’s highest ODI score against West Indies. It included 13 fours and four sixes, and turned an already significant match into a defining chapter in his career.

Memorable performances against West Indies

Kohli’s record against the Caribbean side has been built on a series of decisive innings. In Guwahati in 2018, he struck 140 from 107 balls and shared a 246-run partnership with Rohit Sharma as India chased 323 with eight wickets in hand.

A year later in Port of Spain, Kohli made an unbeaten 114 in a rain-affected ODI. His century helped India complete a revised-target chase and seal a 2-0 series victory.

He has also won three Player of the Series awards against West Indies. During India’s five-match home series in 2018, he scored 453 runs, including three centuries, before continuing his strong run in the Caribbean in 2019.

15,000 ODI runs also in sight

Kohli enters the series on 14,941 ODI runs from 314 matches and 302 innings. He therefore needs 59 runs to become only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to pass 15,000 runs in the format.

With a historic 10th century against West Indies and the 15,000-run mark both possible, Kohli’s return to the format promises another significant test of his extraordinary ODI record.