Virat Kohli has achieved this feat for the 71st time, and is now just 5 steps away from Sachin Tendulkar's world record.
In the first ODI against New Zealand, Virat Kohli played a match-winning innings of 93 runs. King Kohli, who played a crucial role in India's victory, was awarded the Player of the Match award.
Ankush Pandey
Virat vs Sachin Record: Virat Kohli was the hero of India's victory in the first ODI against New Zealand played in Vadodara. Chasing a target of 301 runs, Kohli narrowly missed a century in the match, falling short by just 7 runs.
However, he played a crucial role in India's win with a magnificent innings of 93 runs. The chase master Kohli looked in excellent form right from the start of the match.
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During his innings, he forged a 118-run partnership for the second wicket with captain Shubman Gill and added 77 runs for the third wicket with Shreyas Iyer. Virat Kohli was awarded the Player of the Match award for his outstanding performance.
Virat Kohli sets his sights on another Sachin Tendulkar world record
This was Virat Kohli's 45th Player of the Match award in his ODI career and his 71st in international cricket. Now, Virat has his sights set on another world record held by Sachin Tendulkar, and he has already begun his pursuit of it.
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This record is for the most Player of the Match awards in international cricket. The record currently belongs to Sachin Tendulkar, who won the POTM award 76 times in international cricket. Virat is now just 5 awards away from breaking Sachin's record.
Kohli has won the Player of the Match award 45 times in ODIs, 16 times in T20s, and 10 times in Tests. The gap between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli is now very small.
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The Master Blaster achieved this feat 62 times in ODIs and 14 times in Tests during his career. Only 5 awards separate Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. If Virat manages to win the POTM award five more times, he will equal Sachin's record and reach the joint top spot.
Players with the most 'Player of the Match' awards in international cricket:
- 76 - Sachin Tendulkar
- 71 - Virat Kohli
- 58 - Sanath Jayasuriya
- 57 - Jacques Kallis
- 50 - Kumar Sangakkara
Virat Kohli is third on this list.
If we talk only about ODI cricket, Virat Kohli is also third in terms of winning the most Player of the Match awards in this format. This was Kohli's 45th Player of the Match award in the 50-over format. Ahead of him on this list are former Sri Lankan explosive batsman Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar. In ODIs, Sachin won this award 62 times and Jayasuriya 48 times.
