India vs SA: Virat Kohli surpasses Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting to achieve elite feat during 1st ODI

Virat Kohli moved past Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar to become the Indian batsman with most runs in away games in 50-over format (home of opposition, exclusing neutral venues) during KL Rahul-led India's ODI series opener versus Temba Bavuma-led South Africa on Wednesday (January 19) in Paarl. 

Kohli's tally was 5,057 before he came out to bat in the series opener, with India chasing 297 at Boland Park, Paarl. By achieving his ninth run, Kohli leapfrogged Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting to occupy the second spot in the overall list. Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara heads the chart, with 5,518 away runs in ODIs. 

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Kohli, however, couldn't be till the end of India's run-chase, falling for 51 off Tabriaz Shamsi. He mistimed a sweep and was caught at short mid-wicket. 

Overall, Kohli has amassed over 12,000 runs in the ODI format in 255* ODIs. The 33-year-old averages 59.07 and has already struck 43 tons. In late 2018, he had broken Tendulkar's record to become the quickest to 10,000 runs in the shorter format. 

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Having resigned as the Test captain recently, Kohli's overall captaincy tenure has ended altogether. He will now shift his focus to contributing with the bat in all forms of the game.