IND vs NZ 2nd ODI: Can Virat Kohli surpass Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma? He may become 1st Indian batter to…

Virat Kohli has scored five consecutive 50+ scores in ODIs on five different occasions. This is something no other batter has consistently managed to do across eras.

Now, he is on the verge of becoming the first Indian batter to score 6 consecutive 50+ scores in One-Day cricket. He will have the chance to rewrite history tomorrow, 14 January, in the India vs New Zealand 2nd ODI match in Rajkot.

The first time Virat Kohli scored five consecutive 50+ scores in ODIs in 2012. He produced a stunning run of form against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. That sequence included scores of 133*, 108, 66, 183 and 106.

He repeated the feat in 2013, once again against Australia and Zimbabwe. Scores of 68*, 61, 100*, 68 and 115* highlighted his growing maturity, especially in finishing games unbeaten.

The third instance came in 2023, during the ODI World Cup. Kohli delivered scores of 88, 101*, 51, 117 and 54.

In the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, Kohli achieved the feat for the 4th time. He scored 82, 77, 67, 72 and 66 against Australia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, West Indies and England, respectively.

Most recently, in 2025–26, Kohli achieved this milestone again against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. His scores of 74*, 135, 102, 65* and 93 underline his longevity and hunger even now.

There are only a few other Indian batters who have scored 5 consecutive fifties in their ODI career.

In 1994, Sachin Tendulkar became the first Indian batter to do so. He scored 62, 66, 54, 88 and 105. His first 50 came against New Zealand. He scored the rest of his 50s against the West Indies.

More than 10 years later, Rahul Dravid became the second Indian batter to achieve the feat. The Wall did it against Bangladesh (twice), ICC World XI and Pakistan (twice).

Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane are the only two other Indian batters, except for Virat Kohli, to score 5 consecutive half-centuries. Sharma did it in 2019 while Rahane had done it before, in 2017-18.

The list of the most consecutive 50s in ODI cricket is topped by Javed Miandad. The Pakistani legend scored 50s for 9 consecutive times in 1987.

Even the second position is held by a Pakistani batter, Imam-ul-Haq. The left-handed opener scored half-centuries for 7 consecutive times in 2021.

Caribbean great Gordon Greenidge scored it 6 times. So did Andrew Jones (New Zealand), Mark Waugh (Australia), Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan), Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Ross Taylor (New Zealand) and Chris Gayle (West Indies).

The Number 6 list also includes Paul Stirling (Ireland), Shai Hope (West Indies) and Babar Azam (Pakistan). Interestingly, no Indian batter has managed to score more than 5 consecutive ODI half-centuries so far.

However, with his 77th ODI fifty, Kohli amassed 28,068 runs to surpass Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara (28,016). He now has the second-highest ODI runs. Sachin Tendulkar, for now, is sitting comfortably on top with 34,357 runs.