- By Vishal Pushkar
- Sun, 11 Jan 2026 11:23 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
India vs New Zealand: Indian talismanic batter Virat Kohli earned his 45th 'Player Of The Match' award for his 91-ball 93-run knock against New Zealand in the first ODI at Vadodara. Kohli, in the post-match conference, was full of gratitude for the spectacular journey so far has been as he has been able to "give so much happiness and smile to so many people" through his sport.
Surpassing records one after the other with every knock, the 37-year-old Kohli scaled yet another one, as he became the fastest player to reach 28,000 runs across formats in international cricket and the second most prolific scorer behind Sachin Tendulkar.
Tendulkar achieved the milestone in his 644th innings. Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara, who is only the third player in the 28,000-run club, reached the mark in his 666th innings.
Kohli said he sent his trophies to her mother, who stays in Gurgaon.
🗣️ If I look back at my whole journey, it's nothing short of a dream come true. ✨
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 11, 2026
🎥 Virat Kohli reflects on his incredible career after becoming the 2⃣nd highest run-getter in men's international cricket🙌👏#TeamIndia | #INDvNZ | @imVkohli | @idfcfirstbank pic.twitter.com/87BgcZlx4b
"Yeah, she likes keeping all the trophies," he said with a smile when asked whether he needed a room to keep all these awards.
Virat Kohli walked in to bat at the fall of Rohit Sharma's wicket, receiving a huge cheer from the crowd as the opener headed back to the dressing room.
Asked if he felt a bit disconcerted for the batter who's going back, he said, "I think it's like different timing happens at different games, I am not really aware of it.
"I honestly don't feel good about it if I have to be honest. Same thing happens with MS. I've seen a lot as well. I don't think that it's a good feeling for the guy going out. So I do feel bad about it. I also understand the crowd, gets excited and they get happy.
"So I guess it's part of the game and I try to just focus on what I need to do and not think so much before I go to bat."
Grateful To God For My Journey: Kohli
"Honestly, if I look back at my whole journey, it's nothing short of a dream come true. I've always known my abilities, when I came in and I had to work for a lot more to get to the place I am today.
"God has blessed me with way too much for me to complain about anything. So I feel nothing but gratitude. I always look back at my whole journey with a lot of grace and and a lot of gratitude in my heart and I feel I feel proud about it."
Kohli, who was named player of the match, the 45th time in his career, gets adulation of cricket fans wherever he goes and plays.
"I feel grateful that I've been put in this position. It's a blessing to be honest. You can give so much happiness to so many people by just doing what you love to do, which is play the sport you've always loved as a child.
"What more can I ask for I'm literally living my dream and making people happy and see smiling faces."
Inputs from PTI