Kohli overtakes Dhoni as the Indian with highest average in winning causes

Kohli overtakes Dhoni as the Indian with highest average in winning causes

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When Virat Kohli scored a 27th century helping India chase down 351 in the first ODI against England, the 28-year-old toppled MS Dhoni from the 2nd spot in the list of batsmen with the highest averages when their teams win matches. Only former Kiwi great Glenn Turner is ahead of Kohli at the moment.

A total of 350 while batting first will win you most of the ODI matches ā€“ the ones you will lose will probably have something do with Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper has established himself as the best chaser the game has ever seen. The Delhi-born star is carrying the team on his shoulders right now, and the stats are screaming out that fact as well.

With 5421 runs at an average of 71.32 in 99 innings, Virat Kohli has the second best average in the history of the ODIs when his team has gone on to win their matches. With the help of his 27th century in the ODIs in the first of the three-match series against England, Kohli has now overtaken MS Dhoni, who has scored 5412 runs at an average of 71.21 in 130 innings.

Kiwi great Glenn Turner still heads that chart, though. The 69-year-old had scored at an average of 72.88 in the matches New Zealand had won at that time.

Top 10 batting averages in winning causes for their teams:

Rank Name Country Innings Runs Averages 100s/ 50s
1 Glenn Turner New Zealand 23 1312 72.88 3/ 9
2 Virat Kohli India 99 5421 71.32 23/ 21
3 MS Dhoni India 130 5412 71.21 6/ 37
4 Jos Buttler England 28 1259 69.94 3/ 8
5 Hasim Amla South Africa 86 5203 66.7 21/ 24
6 AB de Villiers South Africa 122 6099 66.29 20/ 34
7 Michael Bevan Australia 122 4502 65.24 5/ 32
8 Ramnaresh Sarwan West Indies 71 2917 62.06 4/ 18
9 Brian Lara West Indies 134 6553 61.82 16/ 42
10 Joe Root England 31 1602 61.61 5/ 9
* Only players above 1000 runs in winning cause have been considered

Expectedly, Dhoni still holds the highest average in successful chases, though. The former skipper has scored 2434 runs at a stunning average of 97.36 when India have successfully chased down a target, while as one would expect, it's Kohli at the second spot with an average of 90.90.

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