In cricket, chasing a high target is one of the most challenging tasks a team can face. Most teams lose because their batters are unable to withstand the chasing pressure. However, things have changed significantly since Virat Kohli joined India’s cricket team. He assisted his team in chasing down some of the biggest targets across all formats, which helped India win. This was the reason fans began calling him the cricket chase master. Hence, Virat Kohli is the chase master of cricket for India. He is also known as the Goat of cricket.
Virat Kohli has helped team India win 60 percent of matches in which India went for batting second in an inning. He is not only a chase master but also a winning master with stylish, aggressive batting that only a few batters showed in the past. One of his best qualities that his fans appreciate the most is his consistency and ability to manage the pace of the game when chasing a target.
Why Virat Kohli is Called the Chase Master?
- Virat Kohli is called chase master because he has one of the best-chasing batting averages across all formats.
- Every time Team India was required to bat second in a match, Virat Kohli was the one who took the initiative in the second innings of the game.
- His batting average in a run chase across all formats is 64, the highest in World Cricket. No other batsmen stand close to this batting average while in a chase.
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Here is the some of the Top batting chasing averages in all formats with more than 100 matches played:
We can see that Virat is at the top of the list with an outstanding chasing average. This is the reason he is called a chase master.
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Virat Kohli Chase Record (Overall)
In all formats combined Virat Kohli chasing stats are as follows. In total, Virat Kohli hit 42 centuries with a batting average of 64 when India went for batting in the second innings of the game.
| Matches | Inns | Runs | Avg. | 100s | 50’s | H/S | Not Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 246 | 254 | 12946 | 64 | 42 | 66 | 235 | 44 |
Virat Kohli Chase Record in ODI
He showed aggression every time India fielded first and went for the chase in the second innings of an ODI. Therefore, he is also called Chase master of ODI cricket. His chasing stats while batting second in ODI innings is as follows;
| ODIs | Inns | Runs | Avg. | 100s | 50s | High Score | Not Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 152 | 144 | 7326 | 64 | 26 | 35 | 183 | 31 |
His chasing average, not just against inferior teams but also against powerful teams like Australia, is one of the best parts about his chasing power.
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This indicates he is a dangerous player for top-ranked nations and weaker teams. One of Kohli’s best performances came during ICC Champions Trophies events, where he averaged 124.
Successful Runs Chase by Virat Kohli for India in ODI
Virat Kohli helped India in winning 93 matches with an outstanding chasing batting average of 90. This is the highest batting average for any batter who helped his team win the ODI match when he batted in the second innings. Not only as a player but also as captain, he has chases records. This shows his incredible stamina to perform in pressure situations.
| Matches Won | Runs | Avg | 100s | 50s | High Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 93 | 5400 | 90 | 22 | 22 | 183 |
Virat Kohli T20I Chase Master
Virat recently led India to one of their most famous victories in the T20 World Cup 2022 over Pakistan by aggressively chasing the total. He did this in a similar way before; this was not the only inning he batted that way. Here is his chasing average when he batted second in an inning of T20I.
| Matches | Inns | Runs | Avg | 100s | 50s | H/S | Not Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | 45 | 1983 | 73 | 0 | 20 | 94* | 18 |
Successful Run Chase by Virat Kohli in T20I
Tema India won 76 percent of matches when Virat Kohli batted in the second innings of T20I matches. As a chase master, this shows his ability to develop strong momentum and stage set for other players to chase the target.
| Matches Won | Inns | Runs | Avg. | 100s | 50s | High Score | Not Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 36 | 1621 | 90 | 0 | 16 | 94* | 18 |
Virat Kohli Chasing Centuries List
Virat Kohli scored 42 centuries when chasing a total. He scored his first run-chase hundred against Sri Lanka in 2009, which helped India win the game by seven wickets. His 183 against Pakistan in the Asia cup is one the most famous run chase century.
He scored his last chasing century in 2019 against Bangladesh in a Test match.
| Runs | Balls | S/R | 4s | 6s | Opponent | Format | Ground | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 107 | 114 | 93.85 | 11 | 1 | Sri Lanka | ODI | Eden Gardens | 2009 |
| 102 | 95 | 107.36 | 11 | 0 | Bangladesh | ODI | Mirpur | 2010 |
| 118 | 121 | 97.52 | 11 | 1 | Australia | ODI | Visakhapatnam | 2010 |
| 112 | 98 | 114.28 | 16 | 0 | England | ODI | Delhi | 2011 |
| 117 | 123 | 95.12 | 14 | 0 | West Indies | ODI | Visakhapatnam | 2011 |
| 116 | 213 | 54.46 | 11 | 1 | Australia | Test | Adelaide | 2012 |
| 133 | 86 | 154.65 | 16 | 2 | Sri Lanka | ODI | Hobart | 2012 |
| 183 | 148 | 123.64 | 22 | 1 | Pakistan | ODI | Mirpur | 2012 |
| 128 | 119 | 107.56 | 12 | 1 | Sri Lanka | ODI | Colombo (RPS) | 2012 |
| 103 | 193 | 53.36 | 14 | 1 | New Zealand | Test | Bengaluru | 2012 |
| 103 | 295 | 34.91 | 11 | 0 | England | Test | Nagpur | 2012 |
| 107 | 206 | 51.94 | 15 | 1 | Australia | Test | Chennai | 2013 |
| 115 | 108 | 106.48 | 13 | 1 | Zimbabwe | ODI | Harare | 2013 |
| 100 | 52 | 192.3 | 8 | 7 | Australia | ODI | Jaipur | 2013 |
| 115 | 66 | 174.24 | 18 | 1 | Australia | ODI | Nagpur | 2013 |
| 123 | 111 | 110.81 | 11 | 2 | New Zealand | ODI | Napier | 2014 |
| 105 | 135 | 77.77 | 15 | 1 | New Zealand | Test | Wellington | 2014 |
| 136 | 122 | 111.47 | 16 | 2 | Bangladesh | ODI | Fatullah | 2014 |
| 139 | 126 | 110.31 | 12 | 3 | Sri Lanka | ODI | Ranchi | 2014 |
| 141 | 175 | 80.57 | 16 | 1 | Australia | Test | Adelaide | 2014 |
| 115 | 184 | 62.5 | 12 | 0 | Australia | Test | Adelaide | 2014 |
| 169 | 272 | 62.13 | 18 | 0 | Australia | Test | Melbourne | 2014 |
| 147 | 230 | 63.91 | 20 | 0 | Australia | Test | Sydney | 2015 |
| 103 | 191 | 53.92 | 11 | 0 | Sri Lanka | Test | Galle | 2015 |
| 106 | 92 | 115.21 | 11 | 1 | Australia | ODI | Canberra | 2016 |
| 154 | 134 | 114.92 | 16 | 1 | New Zealand | ODI | Mohali | 2016 |
| 235 | 340 | 69.11 | 25 | 1 | England | Test | Wankhede | 2016 |
| 122 | 105 | 116.19 | 8 | 5 | England | ODI | Pune | 2017 |
| 111 | 115 | 96.52 | 12 | 2 | West Indies | ODI | Kingston | 2017 |
| 110 | 116 | 94.82 | 9 | 0 | Sri Lanka | ODI | Colombo (RPS) | 2017 |
| 213 | 267 | 79.77 | 17 | 2 | Sri Lanka | Test | Nagpur | 2017 |
| 153 | 217 | 70.5 | 15 | 0 | South Africa | Test | Centurion | 2018 |
| 112 | 119 | 94.11 | 10 | 0 | South Africa | ODI | Durban | 2018 |
| 129 | 96 | 134.37 | 19 | 2 | South Africa | ODI | Centurion | 2018 |
| 149 | 225 | 66.22 | 22 | 1 | England | Test | Birmingham | 2018 |
| 140 | 107 | 130.84 | 21 | 2 | West Indies | ODI | Guwahati | 2018 |
| 107 | 119 | 89.91 | 10 | 1 | West Indies | ODI | Pune | 2018 |
| 123 | 257 | 47.85 | 13 | 1 | Australia | Test | Perth | 2018 |
| 104 | 112 | 92.85 | 5 | 2 | Australia | ODI | Adelaide | 2019 |
| 123 | 95 | 129.47 | 16 | 1 | Australia | ODI | Ranchi | 2019 |
| 114 | 99 | 115.15 | 14 | 0 | West Indies | ODI | Port of Spain | 2019 |
| 136 | 194 | 70.1 | 18 | 0 | Bangladesh | Test | Eden Gardens | 2019 |
FAQ’s
In all formats, team India won 148 matches when Virat Kohli batted in the second innings to chase the target. In all those successful chases, his total average was 84.
Virat Kohli’s highest run chase in ODI is against Pakistan in Asia Cup. He scores 183 runs while chasing a total of 330.
Sachin Tendulkar scored the most runs in Chasing. In 347 matches he scored 16047 runs with a batting average of 45.
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