Virat Kohli was the hero of India’s victory in the first ODI against New Zealand played in Vadodara. While chasing the target of 301 runs, Kohli missed the century by just 7 runs. But he played a crucial role in India’s victory by playing a brilliant inning of 93 runs. During this, he along with captain Shubman Gill made a partnership of 118 runs for the second wicket, while he added 77 runs with Shreyas Iyer for the third wicket.

For Virat Kohli, this was his 45th Player of the Match award in his ODI career and his 71st in international cricket. After this, Virat now has his sights set on another world record held by Sachin Tendulkar. This record is for winning the Player of the Match award the most number of times in international cricket. This record is currently held by Sachin Tendulkar.

Kohli has won the Player of the Match award 45 times in ODIs, 16 times in T20s, and 10 times in Tests. The gap between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli is now very narrow. Sachin achieved this feat 62 times in ODIs and 14 times in Tests. If Virat succeeds in winning the POTM award five times from here, he will equal Sachin and reach the joint number one spot.

Players who have won the most Player of the Match awards in international cricket:

76 – Sachin Tendulkar

71 – Virat Kohli

58 – Sanath Jayasuriya

57 – Jacques Kallis

50 – Kumar Sangakkara

Speaking solely of ODI cricket, Virat Kohli ranks third in terms of winning the most Player of the Match awards in this format. This was Kohli’s 45th Player of the Match award in the 50-over format. He is followed by former Sri Lankan explosive batsman Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin has won this award 62 times in ODIs, while Jayasuriya has won it 48 times.