Virat Kohli’s was back to his customary best in 2023, a brilliant year for the top batter in both forms. For the run machine, the year was a total contrast to 2022, when he was observed to be having form issues. Kohli amassed 2048 runs at an average of 66 from 35 games in the 35 matches that were played in 2023. When contrasted to his 2022 form, in which he scored 1348 runs from 37 matches, the stats are astounding.
With his nearly three-year century drought in ODIs ending in December 2022, Kohli started the year on a high note. In the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Guwahati, the former captain of India started the year with a spectacular 113 (87), earning him Player of the Match honours. After hitting 283 runs in three matches, he earned Player of the Series and Player of the Match. He also made another incredible century (166* off 110) in the third one-day international of the series.
The batting virtuoso not only restored his ODI form but also snapped his 39-month-long century drought in Test cricket by smashing a brilliant 186 against Australia in the series’ fourth Test at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. Following his 76-run haul in the opening match of the series, the 35-year-old added another hundred (121) in the second Test match against the West Indies in July.
But the unchallenged King of contemporary cricket kept the finest for the year’s greatest competition—the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. However, prior to it, in the Asia Cup 2023, Kohli warmed up for the event by scoring another century (122* off 94) against his preferred opponent, Pakistan.
In the 2023 ODI World Cup, Virat Kohli was named Player of the Tournament.
Then, in the ODI World Cup 2023, Kohli experienced his most prosperous phase as he set records for a toss. In the first semi-final of the tournament, held at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, he achieved his 50th ODI century against New Zealand, surpassing his hero Sachin Tendulkar’s record of the most ODI hundreds (49).
With three hundred and six fifties to his credit, the Delhi-born batsman smashed Tendulkar’s previous record for the most runs scored in a single edition of the ODI World Cup, ending with 765 runs from 11 innings at an average of 95.62 and a strike rate of 90.31.
Kohli was also named “Player of the Tournament” for his incredible performance during the competition. The great batter finished the year with another brilliant innings of 76 (82) in the first Test match against South Africa in Centurion, following his heroics at the World Cup.
The first batsman to score more than 2000 runs seven times in a calendar year was Virat Kohli.
For the seventh time in his career, he ended the year with more than 2000 runs, making history as the first hitter to do so. Kohli scored 671 runs at an average of 55.91 in the eight Test matches that were played in 2023. He also recorded two hundred and two fifties.
However, the chase master scored 1377 runs at an average of 72.47 and a strike rate of 99.13 with six hundreds and eight fifties in the 24 ODI innings played in 2023.
Virat Kohli’s form in 2022
| Matches | Runs | Average | Hundreds | Fifties | Highest Score |
| 37 (42 inns) | 1348 | 38.51 | 2 | 11 | 122* |
Virat Kohli’s form in 2023
| Matches | Runs | Average | Hundreds | Fifties | Highest Score |
| 35 (36 inns) | 2048 | 66.06 | 8 | 10 | 186 |
Virat Kohli’s ODI Runs in 2023
| Matches | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | Hundreds | Fifties | Highest Score |
| 27 (24 inns) | 1377 | 72.47 | 99.13 | 6 | 8 | 186 |
Virat Kohli’s Test Runs in 2023
| Matches | Runs | Average | Hundreds | Fifties | Highest Score |
| 8 (12 inns | 671 runs | 55.91 | 2 | 2 | 186 |
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