Virat Kohli has a horrible record against Pakistan at home

KARACHI: Former Indian Skipper and the backbone of the Indian batting lineup, Virat Kohli, kicked off his World Cup 2023 campaign with a couple of half-centuries (one against Australia and one against Afghanistan).

His 85 against Australia was a classy innings as he and KL Rahul rescued India from 2-3 to chase the target of 200 successfully.

Kohli looks in fantastic rhythm ahead of the high-voltage clash against arch-rivals Pakistan at Ahmedabad on October 14, 2023.

Kohli has a great record against Pakistan in ODI cricket. In 15 ODI matches that he has played against Pakistan, he has scored 662 runs at an average of 55.16 with three centuries to his name.

However, Kohli’s record at home against Pakistan is quite terrible. At home (India), he has played four ODIs against Pakistan and has managed only 22 runs. His batting average at home against Pakistan is 5.50, which is disappointing for a player of Kohli’s class.

The prolific right-hander’s first innings against Pakistan in India was in Mohali in 2011, where he scored just nine in the semi-final of the World Cup. Then Kohli played the famous 2012/13 ODI series against Pakistan, which was indeed a nightmare series for him and the entire Indian team. Kohli had scores of 0(5), 6(9), and 7(17) in that series, and on all 3 occasions in the series, he was dismissed by pacer Junaid Khan.

Kohli’s record at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, in ODIs is also quite ordinary. The veteran has played seven ODIs at this venue and has managed to score only 176 runs at an average of 25.14. He has only one half-century in these seven innings. His last outing at this venue in ODIs was against West Indies in 2022 where he was dismissed for a duck by Alzarri Joseph.

The stats are clearly not in favour of the King of the Indian cricket. However, fans would still be hopeful that Kohli does not disappoint them in the high-voltage encounter against, Pakistan. This will be the 8th time that India and Pakistan will meet in an ODI World Cup match, with the former winning on all previous occasions.