By Admin 
Virat Kohli is generally known as India’s most reliable number-3 batsman in ODI cricket. However, in the initial phase of his career, he also played the role of opener in some matches. This period was a time for him to learn and adapt himself to international cricket.
Debut as opener in ODI cricket
Virat Kohli started his ODI career in 2008 against Sri Lanka. In this series he also batted as an opener. In his very first match, Kohli started the innings and scored 12 runs in 22 balls. This innings was not big, but it was from here that the foundation of his international career was laid.
First half century as an opener
Virat Kohli handled himself quickly during the series. In the fourth ODI match, he scored his first and only half-century as an opener. In this match, Kohli played an innings of 54 runs, which is also his best score while opening in ODI.
Virat Kohli’s record as an opener in ODI
Virat Kohli has opened in a total of 7 matches in ODI cricket. In all these matches, he started the innings and scored a total of 166 runs. During this period, his average was 23.71, while the strike rate was 65.09. As an opener, he has one half-century in his name and he was not out on zero even once. In these innings he hit a total of 22 fours.
Why was Kohli’s batting role changed?
After getting limited opportunities as an opener, Team India gave the responsibility of number-3 to Virat Kohli. This decision proved to be the turning point of his career. As soon as he entered the middle order, Kohli has included himself among the best batsmen in the world with his consistency, technique and match-winning innings.