Kohli overtakes Ponting, reaches illustrious milestone

Cardiff: Virat Kohli added another milestone to his illustrious career by surpassing Australian great Ricky Ponting to become the fifth-most-capped player in international cricket. The landmark came when Kohli took the field for the second ODI against England, taking his tally to 561 international appearances, one more than Ponting's 560. Sachin Tendulkar continues to lead the all-time list with 664 matches, followed by Mahela Jayawardene (652), Kumar Sangakkara (594) and Sanath Jayasuriya (586).

Kohli celebrated the achievement with a fluent half-century, scoring 65 off 66 deliveries before falling to Jofra Archer for the second successive ODI. Attempting a pull shot, he top-edged the ball to Adil Rashid at third man. Before his dismissal, Kohli stitched together a 60-run partnership with Rohit Sharma and added 67 runs alongside Shreyas Iyer.

The innings also saw Kohli equal another record. It was his 14th ODI score of 50 or more against England, drawing level with West Indies legend Vivian Richards. Only Kumar Sangakkara, with 15 fifty-plus scores against England, now remains ahead of the Indian batting star.

After losing the toss and being asked to bat, India reached 210 for seven in 40 overs. Shreyas Iyer remained unbeaten on 64, while Gurnoor Brar was batting on seven. Rohit Sharma scored 26, Shubman Gill made 31, and Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube failed to make significant contributions.

India entered the match leading the three-match ODI series 1-0 after winning the opener by six wickets and needed another victory to seal the series.