Virat Kohli
Encyclopedia
Virat Kohli ,born 5 November 1988 in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

) is an Indian international cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

er. He is a middle order batsman, who can also open the batting. He can also bowl right arm medium pace
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...

. Kohli was the captain of the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup
2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup
The 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was held in Malaysia from February 17, 2008 to March 2, 2008. The opening ceremony took place on February 15, 2008. The final was played between India and South Africa, which India won by 12 runs by D/L Method....

 held in Malaysia. He represents Delhi
Delhi cricket team
The Delhi cricket team is one of the first-class cricket teams, that plays in India's domestic competition, the Ranji Trophy. They have won the tournament seven times and have been runners-up seven. Their latest title in 2007-08 came after a long wait of 16 years. The previous win was in the...

 in first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...

 and plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore is a cricket team based in Bangalore that plays in the Indian Premier League and currently lead by Daniel Vettori. The team is owned by Dr...

 in the Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...

. He also played for the West Delhi Cricket Academy.

Youth cricket and early career

Kohli first came into the spotlight when he played for Delhi in a Ranji trophy
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between different city and state sides, equivalent to the County Championship in England and the Sheffield Shield in Australia...

 match against Karnataka
Karnataka cricket team
Karnataka cricket team is a cricket team that represents the Indian state of Karnataka in domestic first class cricket. One of the strongest teams in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group, it has produced many of the Indian cricket team's leading players throughout its existence...

 on the day of his father's death. His team mates needed him at a crucial moment when he was much more needed at home. But he said that he wanted to bat and scored 90 runs. Mitthun Manhas, the team's captain, remarked that "That is an act of great commitment to the team and his innings turned out to be crucial".

Kohli captained the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup
2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup
The 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was held in Malaysia from February 17, 2008 to March 2, 2008. The opening ceremony took place on February 15, 2008. The final was played between India and South Africa, which India won by 12 runs by D/L Method....

 held in Malaysia. Batting at number 4, he scored 235 runs in 6 matches at an average of 47, including a century against the West Indies U-19s. He was also commended for making several tactical bowling changes during the tournament.

Kohli was instrumental in India's win of the 2009 Emerging Players Tournament in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. In the final against South Africa, Kohli scored a century and India went on to win the game by 17 runs. Kohli emerged as the leading run scorer of the tournament, aggregating 398 runs from seven matches including two centuries and two fifties.

Kohli played for Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore is a cricket team based in Bangalore that plays in the Indian Premier League and currently lead by Daniel Vettori. The team is owned by Dr...

 at the 2008 Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...

. He was bought for $30,000 before the first season in 2008. He did not perform well, scoring only 165 runs in 13 innings at an average of 15 and taking only 2 wickets in his bowling. But he improved marginally in the second season, scoring 246 runs in 16 innings with an average of 22.36 and taking 9 catches and 2 run outs. In the third season he scored two half centuries. He scored 307 runs in 13 innings at an average of 27.90. In the fourth season of the IPL, he was the only player that Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore is a cricket team based in Bangalore that plays in the Indian Premier League and currently lead by Daniel Vettori. The team is owned by Dr...

 retained, preferred over the likes of Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...

 and Ross Taylor
Ross Taylor
Luteru Ross Poutoa Lote Taylor , abbreviated in cricket scorecards to LRPL Taylor, but more commonly known as Ross Taylor, is a New Zealand cricketer and the current captain, preferred ahead of wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum. He has also captained the New Zealand Under-19 side in youth internationals...

.

ODI specialist

Following a hundred in the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia in 2008, Kohli was selected in the ODI squad for India's tour of Sri Lanka. Kohli made his debut in One Day Internationals against Sri Lanka in the Idea Cup in 2008 when both Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...

 and Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...

 were injured. He opened the batting in the first match, but was out for 12. But he made a crucial 37 in a low scoring second match in the series, which helped India win and level the series. He made his first half century, a score of 54, in the fourth match which helped India win the series. This was India's first one day series win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. He was included in the squad for the home ODI series against England later that same year but because both Tendulkar and Sehwag were back in the squad he was not given a chance to play. Kohli was then dropped from the squad for the five-match ODI series in Sri Lanka against Sri Lanka in January 2009 in favour of the all rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

Kohli played in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy after Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...

 was injured, and since mid-2009 has been the reserve ODI batsman. Yuvraj regained fitness for the home series against Australia, so Kohli only played in occasional matches in the series.

In the absence of the injured Yuvraj, Kohli got a chance to play in the 4th ODI when Sri Lanka toured India in December 2009. He scored his first ODI century, milking singles with Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir is an Indian cricketer, a batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team since 2003 and 2004...

 they shared a 224-run partnership for the third wicket as India won by seven wickets to seal the series 3–1.

Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar was rested for the tri-nations tournament in Bangladesh in January 2010, so Kohli played in each of India's five matches. After making nine in the opening loss to Sri Lanka, he top-scored with 91 to help secure a win after India collapsed early in their runchase against Bangladesh on 7 January 2010. He then ended unbeaten on 71 to help win the match for India with a bonus point after they chased down their target quickly. The next day, he scored his second ODI century, against Bangladesh, bringing up the mark with the winning runs. He was much praised for his performances during the tournament, and became only the third Indian to score 2 ODI centuries before their 22nd birthday, following in the footsteps of Tendulkar and Suresh Raina. However, in the final against Sri Lanka he made only two as India collapsed to 5/60 and an eventual four-wicket defeat.

Kohli was named vice-captain of the ODI side for the Tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in June 2010 as all the other first-choice players skipped the tournament. In the same series, he became the fastest Indian to score 1,000 runs in ODI cricket.

In 2011 World cup
2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It was Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a World Cup...

, Virat Kohli was preferred ahead Suresh Raina and became the first Indian to score a century on World Cup debut. He also scored 59 against West Indies while sharing a 122-run patnership with Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...

. His 83-run partnership for the third wicket with Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir is an Indian cricketer, a batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team since 2003 and 2004...

 was instrumental in India taking the upper hand during their run chase against Sri Lanka in the final
2011 Cricket World Cup Final
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup Final was played between India and Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 2 April 2011. This was the 10th ICC Cricket World Cup. India won the match by six wickets, its second World Cup victory, having previously won in 1983. India became the third nation to...

. He made 282 runs in 9 innings at an average of 35.25.

Between 1 January 2009 and 1 September 2011, Kohli was India's second highest run-scorer in ODIs with 1,994 runs at an average of 47.47.

In October 2011, he scored his seventh ODI century against England (112*) as India recorded a massive victory by eight wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla
Feroz Shah Kotla
The Feroz Shah Kotla or Kotla was originally a fortress built by Sultan Ferozshah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Ferozabad. A pristine polished sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C...

. Also this win consisted of a match winning 200+ run 3rd wicket partnership which he shared with Gambhir. Virat received the man of the match award on this occasion.

First Test experience

When India toured the West Indies in June and July 2011 they chose a largely inexperienced squad, resting Tendulkar and others absent through injury such as Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir is an Indian cricketer, a batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team since 2003 and 2004...

 and Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...

. Kohli was one of three uncapped players in the Test squad. India won the Test series 1–0 but Kohli struggled on his introduction to the format; he struggled with the short ball amassing just 76 runs from five innings. Particularly troublesome for Kohli was the fast bowling of Fidel Edwards
Fidel Edwards
Fidel Henderson Edwards is a West Indian cricketer and is the half brother of Pedro Collins. A pace bowler, his slingshot action greatly resembles that of former fast bowling great Jeff Thomson. He bowls fast, can swing the ball and get reverse swing, but insists that he does not go for...

, who dismissed him three times in the series. Initially dropped from the Test squad for India's four-match series against England in July and August
Indian cricket team in England in 2011
The Indian cricket team toured England from 21 July to 16 September 2011. The test match series of this tour was known as Pataudi Trophy 2011 and the ODI series of the tour was known as NatWest Series 2011. The tour consisted of one Twenty20 International , five One Day Internationals and four...

, Kohli was recalled as cover for the injured Yuvraj Singh.

ODI centuries

ODI centuries of Virat Kohli
# |Match |City/Country |Year
1 107 14 Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

, India
Eden Gardens
Eden Gardens
Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata , India. It is the home of the Bengal cricket team and the Indian Premier League's Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as being a Test and One Day International ground. It is the largest cricket stadium in India by seating capacity...

 
2009
2 102* 19 Mirpur
Mirpur Thana
Mirpur is a thana of Dhaka city, Bangladesh. It is bounded by Pallabi Thana to the north, Mohammadpur Thana to the south, Kafrul to the east - to the west it is bounded by Savar Upazila.-Geography:Mirpur is located at...

, Bangladesh
Shere Bangla National Stadium  2010
3 118 35 Vishakapatnam, India ACA-VDCA Stadium
ACA-VDCA Stadium
ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium , is a multi-purpose stadium in Visakhapatnam, India.-Ground Profile:...

 
2010
4 105 36 Guwahati
Guwahati
Guwahati, Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis,the largest city of Assam in India and ancient urban area in North East India, with a population of 963,429. It is also the largest metropolitan area in north-eastern India...

, India
Nehru Stadium
Nehru Stadium, Guwahati
Nehru Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Guwahati, India and managed by the Board of Sports, Government of Assam. It is used both for football and cricket matches. The stadium holds 20,000 people at most and was built in 1962....

 
2010
5 100* 46 Mirpur
Mirpur Thana
Mirpur is a thana of Dhaka city, Bangladesh. It is bounded by Pallabi Thana to the north, Mohammadpur Thana to the south, Kafrul to the east - to the west it is bounded by Savar Upazila.-Geography:Mirpur is located at...

, Bangladesh
Shere Bangla National Stadium  2011
6 107 64 Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

, Wales
SWALEC Stadium  2011
7 112* 66 Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, India
Feroz Shah Kotla
Feroz Shah Kotla
The Feroz Shah Kotla or Kotla was originally a fortress built by Sultan Ferozshah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Ferozabad. A pristine polished sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C...

 
2011

External links

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