KEY STORY
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Virat Kohli has been in form but it is safe to say that the Indian captain has not lived up to the humungous standards set by himself as his last international ton came in November 2019.
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Since then, the 32-year-old has been crossing the 50-run mark with ease but hasn’t been able to convert them into daddy hundreds as he still remains after his 71st international century.
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As India take on a depleted England in the second and penultimate ODI of the three-match ODI series, King Kohli will not only be looking to reach his 71st international ton, but he will also be targetting to surpass former South African captain Graeme Smith in an elite list for ODI captains.
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Currently, Kohli is only 41 runs away from going past Smith in the list of most ODI runs by a captain. Kohli currently has 5,376 runs in the 93 ODIs that he has played as the Indian captain.
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If he gets off to a start and crosses the 41-run mark in the second ODI against England, he will rise to No.5 in the list overtaking Smith. The former Proteas captain had amassed a total of 5,416 runs in 150 ODIs as captain.
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The No.1 is still led by the two-time World Cup-winning former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who has a staggering 8,497 runs in his 234 ODIs as Aussie skipper. MS Dhoni, the former Indian skipper, comes second on the list.
A lot more in store for King Kohli
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Moreover, Kohli is also one century away from equalling Ponting’s tally of 22 hundreds as ODI captain.
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He will also be on par with Ponting in terms of most international tons (71), making him the joint-second overall. In addition, if the right-hander gets to the triple-figure mark in the second ODI, he will also join Sachin Tendulkar in terms of most ODI centuries at home (20).
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Meanwhile, the Men in Blue will look to wrap up the three-match ODI series versus England and win their first-ever series in the 50-over format in the post-COVID-era. India’s last ODI series triumph came versus Australia in early 2020 at home.
United diagnosticss
