Former India captain Virat Kohli is celebrating his 38th birthday on Thursday and celebrated it with a match-winning 74 in first ODI vs New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland, a day earlier.
Published: November 5, 2026, 11:12 AM IST
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Former India captain Virat Kohli is celebrating his 38th birthday on Thursday, November 5(Source: X)
Indian cricket legend Virat Kohli has notched up 86 international hundreds – record 55 of those have come in One-day International matchesNo man has scored more ODI tons than Kohli, who is celebrating his 38th birthday on ThursdayBut when asked about his favourite ODI knock, it was surprisingly not any of these centuries.
Kohli chose a knock of 43 against England in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy final at Edgbaston in BirminghamUnder the captaincy of MS Dhoni, Kohli top-scored with 43 off 34 balls with 1 six and 4 fours in a rain-hit title clash where Indians posted a modest 129 for 7 in 20 oversKohli’s knock prove the difference between win and loss for India as they won by 5 runs.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter has scored his 80th half-century in India’s five-wicket win over New Zealand in the first match of five-game series at the Eden Park in Auckland on Wednesday.
WATCH Virat Kohli speak about his favourite ODI knock on his 38th birthday HERE…
Birthday special!
Over the years, #ViratKohli has played countless iconic innings, but which one comes out on top? Find out!
Watch him soon in #INDvSL 3-match ODI series Starts 13th DEC https://t.co/ookEDInLNc
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) November 5, 2026
Speaking about his other favourite knocks, Kohli chose his knock of 35 in the 2011 ODI World Cup final, which helped current head coach and former opener Gautam Gambhir stabilise the chase of 275 after the team slumped to 31 for 2, over his iconic 133 not out against Sri Lanka at Hobart in 2012 during a chase of 321 in 40 overs and 85 against Australia in a low-scoring ODI World Cup 2023 opener in Chennai, during which India found themselves three wickets down for just two runs while chasing 199 runs.
He chose his 35 in the World Cup final over another chase master-class – 122 vs England in 2017, which came during a chase of 351, with his team at 63 for 4 at one pointHe also did not choose his iconic 160-run knock against South Africa in 2018 at Cape Town, in which he scored 100 runs by just running between the wickets.
Asked to pick one out of 2011 World Cup final knock and the CT 2013 final innings against England, Kohli finally went with the latterThe knock came with India struggling at 66 for 5 in a rain-curtailed 20 over matchHe put on a crucial 47-run stand with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who scored 33.
Kohli chose this 43-run knock over some other iconic centuries – 183 vs Pakistan in 2012 Asia Cup while chasing 330 runs, 138 vs South Africa at Chennai in 2015 and his 107 vs Pakistan in the ODI World Cup 2015 match, which was the first-ever century in a World Cup against Pakistan by an Indian batter to finally end the segment.
Virat Kohli’s top achievements on 38th birthday
- Kohli is the most successful Indian Test captain with 40 wins in 68 matches, losing just 17.
- Kohli has won the ODI World Cup 2011 title, 2013 and 2025 ICC Champions Trophy and the T20 World Cup 2024 title as well.
- Kohli is the fourth-highest scorer for India in 123 matches, scoring 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties.
- He is the world’s second-highest ODI run-getter, with 15,183 runs in 318 matches and 306 innings at an average of 58.84, including a record-breaking 55 centuries and 80 fifties.
- Kohli is the third-highest run-getter in T20Is, with 4,188 runs in 125 innings at an average of 48.69, with a century and 38 fifties.
- Across all international cricket, Kohli is the second-highest run-scorer of all time, with 28,601 runs in 566 matches, 633 innings at an average of 52.86, with 86 centuries and 149 fifties, with a best score of 254 not out against South Africa.
