Kohli vs South Africa: Why the star batsman is key to India's ODI success

Ranchi: Indian batting legend Virat Kohli will return to action in the first ODI against South Africa at the JSCA International Cricket Stadium in Ranchi on Sunday.

The three-match ODI series starting Sunday and concluding on December 6 will see Kohli aiming to regain his rhythm after a mixed performance in the recent ODI tour of Australia, where he started with two consecutive ducks but finished with an unbeaten 74* in a match-winning partnership with Rohit Sharma.

Kohli boasts a strong record against South Africa, scoring 1,504 runs in 31 ODIs across 29 innings with an average of 65.39, including five centuries and eight fifties, with a highest score of 160*. He ranks as the third-highest run-scorer in ODIs between India and South Africa, following Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar.

At the JSCA Stadium, Kohli has scored 384 runs in five matches at an average of 192.00, including two centuries and one fifty, with a best score of 139*. His last ODI at Ranchi was a notable 95-ball 123 while chasing a target of 314 against Australia.

Currently, Kohli is 337 runs shy of reaching 28,000 runs in international cricket, a milestone that would make him the third player after Kumar Sangakkara and Sachin Tendulkar to achieve it.

In 553 matches and 620 innings, Kohli has amassed 27,673 runs at an average of 52.21, including 82 centuries and 144 fifties, with a highest score of 254*.

This year, in 10 ODIs, Kohli has scored 349 runs with an average of 43.62, including a century and three fifties.

India's ODI squad for the South Africa series includes Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (captain and wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, and Dhruv Jurel.

With inputs from ANI