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Virat Kohli has been called the Chase Master for years.
But sometimes you have to look at the numbers again to understand just how extraordinary he has been when India are hunting down a target.
His unbeaten 139 against West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday was another reminder.
India needed 296 to win and Kohli stayed there until the job was done, smashing an unbeaten 139 from just 88 balls as India won by eight wickets with 50 balls remaining. It was his 55th ODI century and took him past 15,000 runs in the format.
But his numbers in successful ODI run chases are perhaps even more remarkable.
Kohli has scored 6,374 runs in successful ODI chases, averaging more than 90. He has also scored 25 centuries in those winning chases.
Nearly 42% of all his ODI runs
Kohli now has 15,080 ODI runs overall.
That means 42.3 per cent of all the runs he has scored in ODI cricket have come in successful run chases.
Think about that for a moment.
Almost half of the runs Kohli has scored across his entire ODI career have come while India were chasing a target and went on to win the match.
The century numbers are even more remarkable.
Kohli has scored 55 ODI hundreds, with 25 of them coming in successful chases.
That works out to 45.5 per cent of all his ODI centuries.
Moment for the history books
The magical feeling of scaling Mt. 1⃣5⃣0⃣0⃣0⃣ ODI runs, ft. Virat Kohli ️
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/O2cs86p4gq#TeamIndia | #INDvWI | @mflone_ | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/sbqA6KtBsr— BCCI (@BCCI) September 27, 2026
Kohli 25, Tendulkar and Rohit 14 each
Perhaps the best way to understand Kohli’s dominance is to compare him with two of India’s other greatest ODI batters.
Kohli’s 25 centuries in successful ODI run chases are the most by any batter in history.
Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma are next with 14 each.
So Kohli has scored 11 more hundreds in successful ODI chases than either Tendulkar or Rohit.
That perhaps explains the Chase Master nickname better than any percentage.
25 of his 30 chase hundreds ended in wins
There is another remarkable number.
Kohli has scored 30 ODI centuries while chasing overall. Of those, 25 have come in successful chases.
That means 83.3 per cent of Kohli’s ODI centuries while chasing have ended with India winning.
His overall chasing record is equally impressive. Kohli has scored 8,638 runs while chasing in ODIs, with 30 centuries and 45 fifties. Of those runs, 6,374 have come in victories.
That means 73.8 per cent of all his ODI runs while chasing have come in successful chases.
Chase Master does it again at 37
Sunday’s innings was classic Kohli, although this time there was even more aggression.
He hit a career high nine sixes, reached his 55th ODI hundred from 74 balls and remained unbeaten as India crossed the line.
At 37, the records continue to grow.
But perhaps you only need three numbers to understand why Kohli is called the Chase Master:
25 hundreds in successful ODI chases. Tendulkar 14. Rohit 14.
That gap tells its own story. And his story isn’t finished, yet.
