Virat Kohli reaches 10K: His five best ODI knocks to date

He scaled the epic milestone in just 205 innings, a whopping 54 innings fewer than Sachin Tendulkar, who previously held the record for being the quickest to the mark – 259 innings.

Kohli has built his reputation over years of exquisite one-day international batsmanship, redefining the very art of it. The right handed-batsman has always had a penchant for making big scores. Before the ongoing game, he had 36 centuries to his name, apart from 48 half-centuries.

For a man who has scored so prolifically, picking his best five knocks is a particularly tricky task, but we've chosen five that we believe make the cut over others.

Riding on twin centuries from Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed, Pakistan had posted a massive 329/6 on the board in this group stage match of the Asia Cup 2012.

In the chase, India had lost Gautam Gambhir in the first over and Kohli joined Tendulkar in a 133-run stand to put India on course before the veteran was dismissed for 52. But Kohli exhibited great skill and composure to script one of India's most stunning chases.

In 148 balls, he struck 22 fours and a six to all but secure the chase for India. Four balls after his dismissal to Umar Gul in the 48th over of the innings, India went over the line.

By February of 2012, Virat Kohli had already shown plenty of promise and the world knew of him as a fine ODI batsman, but this gem of a knock against Sri Lanka showed how strong he was at chasing.

India had a target of 321 against an attack featuring Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara among others, and things weren't looking too bright at 86/2. Kohli was in supreme form, however. He tackled the bowling without effort and raced to an unbeaten 133 off just 86 balls to lead India over the line within just 37 overs!

This is one of Kohli's more recent specials, which came against South Africa in Cape Town in February 2018. On a pitch where almost all other batsmen struggled, Kohli essayed a fluent 160 not out at more than a run-a-ball to lift India to 303/6.

That South Africa were bowled out for just 179 is indicative of how difficult the conditions were. Kohli though looked as if he was batting on a different surface, striking 12 fours and a couple of sixes.

On a sporting wicket, India had restricted New Zealand to 285, but they were in a spot of bother after openers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane fell cheaply.

As always, Kohli looked confident and was proactive in his hunt for runs. He batted 134 deliveries to score an unbeaten 154 against a high-quality attack consisting of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Matt Henry to guide India home with 10 balls to spare. His knock was laced with 16 fours and a six.

It was the first of five matches against England – a spectacular ODI side – and India were keen to press for an early advantage. But an explosive England stacked up 350/7 on a good wicket.

To say India's chase was off to a wobbly start would be a severe understatement. Openers KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan were dismissed for single-digit scores. In the middle order, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni too fell cheaply leaving India tottering at 63/4. But Kohli found solid company in Kedar Jadhav and the duo put on 200 runs to change the course of the game.

Kohli was dismissed for 122 from 105 deliveries – a knock featuring eight fours and five sixes – but Jadhav went on to bring up his own century to deliver a brilliant win for the home team.