Virat Kohli 42 Runs From No. 2 All-Time Ahead of New Zealand ODI Series

Overview

• India open a three-ODI home series against New Zealand on January 11 at the Vadodara/BCA Stadium, their first international assignment of 2026.
• Kohli sits on 27,975 international runs and needs 42 to pass Kumar Sangakkara’s 28,016 for second on the all-time men’s list, with Sachin Tendulkar leading at 34,357.
• He can surpass Sangakkara in his 624th international innings, fewer than the 666 innings the Sri Lankan great required.
• Kohli is about 25 runs from 28,000 career runs and would reach the mark in fewer innings than Tendulkar, who got there in 644.
• He enters the series with six consecutive fifty-plus scores across ODIs and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, while New Zealand are without several first-choice bowlers due to workload or injury.