West Indies have been one of the happy-hunting opponents for Virat Kohli in white-ball cricket. After his 10,000 milestone in ODIs, that came in 2018 against West Indies, the former Indian captain is once again in front of the Caribbean side, with another world record in sight. Having already retired from T20Is and Tests, Kohli only plays in the 50-over format for India, with the 2027 ODI World Cup in mind.
India play a three-match ODI series against West Indies, with the first encounter starting on Sunday at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. first ODI match against West Indies came in 2009 in Johannesburg, where he made 79 not out. Since then, played 43 games against the Caribbean, scoring 2261 runs at an average of 66.5.
Against West Indies, has scored nine hundreds and 11 fifties in 17 years so far, and is just a hundred away from a world record. Another hundred against the Shai Hope-led side would make the right-hander become the first player to score 10 hundreds each against two different oppositions in ODIs. Kohli has 10 ODI tons against Sri Lanka.
One of highlights of against West Indies was his 157 off 129 balls in 2018, his 37th ODI hundred. Not only was that his highest individual score against the opposition, but it also took him past the 10,000-run mark in the 50-over format for India.
Kohli reached the landmark in 205 innings, 54 innings earlier than that of legendary , and also became the 13th batter to enter the 10,000-run club. In fact, it was during the 2018, Kohli scored three back-to-back hundreds against West Indies.
Meanwhile, Kohli said on Saturday that next year’s will be his last, with the India batting great determined to lift the trophy one more time. The 37-year-old, who plays only the 50-over format after retiring from Test and ODI cricket, said the 2027 tournament in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia would be his final World Cup appearance.
“For me, it’s the last World Cup I’m going to play for India,” Kohli told broadcaster JioStar. “That is my motivation… to leave everything out there. And of course, the goal is absolutely to win the World Cup and whatever it takes,” he said. “I’m absolutely ready.”
The series against the West Indies is being seen as a step in India’s preparations for the 2027 showpiece. Kohli remains one of the most prolific batters in ODIs, having hit a record 54 centuries and 14,941 runs.
