Virat Kohli

Full Name               : Virat Kohli 

Date of Birth           : 5th November 1988

Place of Birth          : Delhi, India 

Height                  : 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 

Batting Style           : Right-Handed 

Bowling Style           : Righ Arm Medium Pace 

Role                    : Batsman 

Test Debut (cap 268)    : 20th June 2011 v West Indies 

ODI Debut (cap 175)     : 18 August 2008 v Sri Lanka 

Virat Kohli  is an Indian international cricketer.  Virat Kohli   is a middle order batsman, who can also open the batting.  Virat Kohli  can also bowl right arm medium pace. Kohli was the captain of the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia.  Virat Kohli   represents Delhi in first-class cricket and plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.  Virat Kohli  also played for the West Delhi Cricket Academy.  Virat Kohli  made his One Day International (ODI) debut in 2008 and was part of the Indian team which won the 2011 World Cup. Despite being a regular in the ODI side, he had to wait until 2011 before playing his first Test.

Youth Cricket and Early Career

Kohli first came into the spotlight when he played for Delhi in a Ranji trophy match against Karnataka on the day of his father's death.   Virat Kohli  team mates needed him at a crucial moment when he was much more needed at home. Choosing to stay and bat, he went on to score 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 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.  Virat Kohli  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. 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 at the 2008 Indian Premier League.  Virat Kohli  was bought for $30,000 before the first season in 2008.  Virat Kohli  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.  Virat Kohli   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 retained, preferred over the likes of Rahul Dravid and Ross Taylor.

ODI specialist (2008–2011)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 and Virender Sehwag were injured.  Virat Kohli  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.  Virat Kohli  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.  Virat Kohli  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 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.  Virat Kohli  scored his first ODI century, milking singles with Gautam Gambhir 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.  Virat Kohli  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.  Virat Kohli  was much praised for his performances during the tournament, and became only the third Indian to score two 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.  Virat Kohli  was India's leading run-scorer in 2010, with 995 runs including three centuries from 25 matches at an average of 47.38. Kohli was preferred over Raina for the 2011 World Cup and became the first Indian to score a century on World Cup debut.  Virat Kohli   also scored 59 against West Indies while sharing a 122-run patnership with Yuvraj Singh.  Virat Kohli  83-run partnership for the third wicket with Gautam Gambhir was instrumental in India taking the upper hand during their run chase against Sri Lanka in the final.  Virat Kohli  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.

Introduction to Tests (2011–2012)

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 and Virender Sehwag. 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, 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, Kohli was recalled as cover for the injured Yuvraj Singh,though did not play in the series.  Virat Kohli   participated in the subsequent ODI series, scoring 194 runs from five innings including a century, although India lost the series 3–0. In October England faced India in a return ODI series in India. India won 5–0 and Kohli was the highest run-scorer on either side with 270 across five matches and a highest score of 112 not out.

In November and December 2011, the West Indies toured India for three Tests and five ODIs. Following his ODI success against England the previous month Kohli was included in the Test squad ahead of Raina. In competition with Yuvraj Singh for the number six position,it was not until the final match of the series that Kohli was selected in the team. The match ended in a draw, and having won the first two Tests took the series 2–0; Kohli scored a pair of fifties in the match, passing his previous highest score of 30. India won the subsequent ODI series 4–1 and Kohli managed 243 runs at an average of 60.75 with a highest score of 117.

Kohli was included in India's squad for the tour of Australia in December 2011. After the first Test he felt his position in the team was in jeopardy, and during the second Kohli was fined half of his match fee for swearing at the Sydney Cricket Ground who were insulting him. On the opening morning of the third Test India were dismissed for 161 and Kohli top-scored with 44. In an interview he remarked "Scoring eight hundreds in one-day internationals can't be a fluke. It's international cricket as well. I don't know why people have been questioning my technique or temperament so much. ... All of this is a learning curve for me. I am playing on difficult wickets, in Australia."

ODI centuriesODI centuries of Virat Kohli 

# Runs Match Against      City/Country Venue Year 

1 107  14    Sri Lanka    Kolkata, India Eden Gardens 2009 

2 102* 19    Bangladesh   Mirpur, Bangladesh Shere Bangla National Stadium 2010 

3 118  35    Australia    Vishakapatnam, India ACA-VDCA Stadium 2010 

4 105  36    New Zealand  Guwahati, India Nehru Stadium 2010 

5 100* 46    Bangladesh   Mirpur, Bangladesh Shere Bangla National Stadium 2011 

6 107  64    England      Cardiff, Wales SWALEC Stadium 2011 

7 112* 66    England      Delhi, India Feroz Shah Kotla 2011 

8 117  71    West Indies  Vishakapatnam, India ACA-VDCA Stadium 2011