Virat Kohli bags multiple records with half-century in second England ODI

CARDIFF: India's batting maestro Virat Kohli on Thursday amassed two major milestones with his anchoring half-century against England in the second ODI of the three-match away series, underway here at the Sophia Gardens.

Kohli, playing in his 561st international match for India, surpassed Australia legend Ricky Ponting, who had 560, to become the fifth-most capped player in the sport, only behind the country's great Sachin Tendulkar and Sri Lanka's trio of Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya.

Tendulkar continues to hold the summit with 664 international appearances, closely followed by Jayawardene, who represented Sri Lanka in 652 matches.

Most international appearances

• Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 664 matches

• Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – 652 matches

• Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 594 matches

• Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) – 586 matches

• Virat Kohli (India) – 561 matches

• Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 560 matches

Kohli made his landmark international appearance for India memorable as he registered a composed half-century, scoring 65 off 66 deliveries with the help of eight fours.

His half-century, which was his 14th score of fifty or more in ODIs against England, helped him draw level with West Indies great Sir Vivian Richards, who had registered as many fifty-plus scores against the opposition during his glittering career.

Sri Lanka's Sangakkara holds the record of registering the most fifty-plus scores in ODIs against England, surpassing the landmark 15th time.

Overall, it was Kohli's 132nd fifty-plus score in the longest format as he moved 13 within top-placed Tendulkar's tally of 145, who played 463 ODIs for India, 150 more than that of Kohli.