WATCH- Virat Kohli picks his best ODI innings from 2011 World Cup final knock and 2013 Champions Trophy final innings

Virat Kohli is celebrating his 38th birthday on November 5, 2026.

India’s batting icon Virat Kohli is celebrating his 38th birthday on November 5, 2026, and in a conversation with Star Sports, he was asked to pick his best innings in the ODI format from a few options. Notably, Kohli is currently in New Zealand playing a five-ODI series for the Indian team.

Kohli is an all-time great in one-day international cricket, with 15183 runs in 318 ODIs, at an average of 58.84 and a strike rate of 94.52. He has hit 55 centuries and 80 fifties, with the highest score of 183, while hitting 1415 fours and 182 sixes.

Kohli is a one-time ICC World Cup winner in 2011, a two-time ICC Champions Trophy winner in 2013 and 2025, and won the 2024 T20 World Cup as well.

In a "Winner Stays On" challenge video that Star Sports posted on his 38th birthday, Kohli was asked to pick from among several of his best ODI innings, among them his 183 against Pakistan in the 2012 Asia Cup in Mirpur and his 160 against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018.

The challenge started with Kohli being asked to decide between his unbeaten 133 against Sri Lanka in Hobart in 2012 and his vital 35 against Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup final in Mumbai.

In response, Kohli opted for the second option, pointing out that the innings came after India had lost two early wickets during the chase. He put on 83 runs for the third wicket alongside Gautam Gambhir, whose 97 helped India end a 28-year wait and win the World Cup. Even though he was asked about his 85 against Australia in Chennai in 2013 and his 122 against England in Pune in 2017, Kohli chose to stay with the World Cup final innings.

He also passed over his famous 160 against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018, an innings in which he made 100 of his runs without striking a single boundary. Asked to choose between his 2011 World Cup final knock and his 43 in the 2013 Champions Trophy final against England, Kohli ultimately selected the latter. That innings came as India found themselves struggling at 66/5 in a rain-shortened 20-over match.

Kohli picked this 43-run knock ahead of several other iconic centuries, among them his 183 against Pakistan in the 2012 Asia Cup while chasing 330, his 138 against South Africa in Chennai in 2015, and his 107 against Pakistan in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

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