Virat Kohli on the brink of breaking Sourav Ganguly’s record in ICC Champions Trophy final with just five runs needed

New Delhi: India and New Zealand are gearing up to clash in the highly anticipated ICC Champions Trophy final on Sunday, March 9, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. For India, this final represents a golden opportunity to end their title drought in One Day Internationals (ODIs), as their last triumph in this format dates back to 2013. To put things into perspective, India's most recent major ICC trophy in ODIs was the Champions Trophy in 2013, captained by none other than MS Dhoni. Now, Virat Kohli, a pivotal member of that historic squad, is eyeing his second Champions Trophy title and a significant milestone in the upcoming final.

Kohli has participated in four finals of the ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy, scoring a total of 137 runs across these matches with an average of 34.25, including one half-century. He is just five runs short of becoming India’s top run-scorer in the final matches of these two tournaments.

Sourav Ganguly holds the record for participating in the most ICC ODI finals, having appeared in four of them. During these matches, he has accumulated 141 runs in two innings, achieving an impressive average of 70.5, which includes one century.

Adam Gilchrist from Australia leads the list of run-scorers in finals, having scored 262 runs in four finals during his distinguished career, with an average of 65.5 and a strike rate of 132.99, including two half-centuries and one century. Ricky Ponting follows with 247 runs in six finals, averaging 49.4. Virat Kohli, to enter the top five overall, needs just 40 more runs, while a century would elevate him into the top three. Specifically, if Kohli scores 126 runs in the final against New Zealand, he would surpass Gilchrist to become the highest run-scorer.