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Virat Kohli is an Indian international cricketer. He is a middle order batsman, who can also open the batting. He can also bowl right arm medium pace. Kohli was the Captain of the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia. He represents Delhi in first class cricket and plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premiere League. He also played for the West Delhi Cricket Academy. He made his One Day International(ODI) debut in 2008 and was part of the Indian team which won the 2011 World Cup.

Virat Kohli was born on 5 November 1988 in Delhi to Prem and Saroj Kohli. He has an elder brother, Vikash, and an elder sister, Bhavna. Virat attended school at Vishal Bharti and Savier Convent. Virat's father, Prem, worked as a lawyer and passed away in December 2006.

Youth cricket and early career

The West Delhi Cricket Academy was created in 1998 and Kohli was part of its first intake. Kohli first came into the spotlight when he played for Delhi in a Ranji Trophy match againstKarnataka on the day of his father's death. Choosing to stay and bat, he went on to score 90 runs. Mithun Manhas, the team's captain, remarked that "That is an act of great commitment to the team and his innings turned out to be crucial".

Kohli captained the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia.Batting at number 4, he scored 235 runs in 6 matches at an average of 47, including a century against the West Indies U-19s. He was also commended for making several tactical bowling changes during the tournament. His mother noted that "Virat changed a bit after that day. Overnight he became a much more matured person. He took every match seriously. He hated being on the bench. It's as if his life hinged totally on cricket after that day."

Kohli was instrumental in India's win of the 2009 Emerging Players Tournament in Australia. In the final against South Africa, Kohli scored a century and India went on to win the game by 17 runs. Kohli emerged as the leading run scorer of the tournament, aggregating 398 runs from seven matches including two centuries and two fifties.

Kohli played for Royal Challengers Bangalore at the 2008 Indian Premiere League. He was bought for $30,000 before the first season in 2008. He did not perform well, scoring only 165 runs in 13 innings at an average of 15 and taking only 2 wickets with his bowling. But he improved marginally in the second season, scoring 246 runs in 16 innings with an average of 22.36 and taking 9 catches and effecting 2 run outs. In the third season, he scored 307 runs, including two half centuries, in 13 innings at an average of 27.90. In the fourth season of the IPL, he was the only player that Royal Challengers Bangalore retained, preferred over the likes of Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ross Taylor

Kohli played in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy after Yuvraj Singhwas injured, and since mid-2009 has been the reserve ODI batsman. Yuvraj regained fitness for the home series against Australia, so Kohli only played in occasional matches in the series.

In the absence of the injured Yuvraj, Kohli got a chance to play in the 4th ODI when Sri Lanka toured India in December 2009. He scored his first ODI century, milking singles with GautamGambhir they shared a 224-run partnership for the third wicket as India won by seven wickets to seal the series 3'1.

Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar was rested for the tri-nations tournament in Bangladesh in January 2010, so Kohli played in each of India's five matches. After making nine in the opening loss to Sri Lanka, he top-scored with 91 to help secure a win after India collapsed early in their run chase against Bangladesh on 7 January 2010. He then ended unbeaten on 71 to help win the match for India with a bonus point after they chased down their target quickly. The next day, he scored his second ODI century, against Bangladesh, bringing up the mark with the winning runs. He was much praised for his performances during the tournament, and became only the third Indian to score two ODI centuries before their 22nd birthday, following in the footsteps of Tendulkar and Suresh Raina. However, in the final against Sri Lanka he made only two as India collapsed to 5/60 and an eventual four-wicket defeat.

Kohli was named vice-captain of the ODI side for the Tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in June 2010 as all the other first-choice players skipped the tournament. In the same series, he became the fastest Indian to score 1,000 runs in ODI cricket. He was India's leading run-scorer in 2010, with 995 runs including three centuries from 25 matches at an average of 47.38. Kohli was preferred over Raina for the 2011 World Cup and became the first Indian to score a century on World Cup debut. He also scored 59 against West Indies while sharing a 122-run partnership with Yuvraj Singh. His 83-run partnership for the third wicket with Gauta Gambhir was instrumental in India taking the upper hand during their run chase against Sri Lanka in the final. He made 282 runs in 9 innings at an average of 35.25. Between 1 January 2009 and 1 September 2011, Kohli was India's second highest run-scorer in ODIs with 1,994 runs at an average of 47.47.

In November and December 2011, the West Indies toured India for three Testa and five ODIs Following his ODI success against England the previous month Kohli was included in the Test squad ahead of Raina. In competition with Yuvraj Singh for the number six position, it was not until the final match of the series that Kohli was selected in the team. The match ended in a draw, and having won the first two Tests took the series 2'0; Kohli scored a pair of fifties in the match, passing his previous highest score of 30. India won the subsequent ODI series 4'1 and Kohli managed 243 runs at an average of 60.75 with a highest score of 117.

Kohli was included in India's squad for the tour of Australia in December 2011. After the first Test he felt his position in the team was in jeopardy, and during the second Kohli was fined half of his match fee for swearing at fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground who were insulting him.In an interview after the incident, he remarked "Scoring eight hundreds in one-day internationals can't be a fluke. It's international cricket as well. I don't know why people have been questioning my technique or temperament so much. ... All of this is a learning curve for me. I am playing on difficult wickets, in Australia." Kohli top scored in each of India's innings in the third Test, with 44 and 75, and in the fourth and final match Kohli scored his maiden Test century of 116 runs in the second innings; it was the only century scored by an Indian in the series. India lost the series 4'0and Kohli was the top scorer for India in the same series.

India remained in Australia for the triangular ODI series, that followed the Tests; it was contested by Australia, Sri Lanka, and India. Kohli was India's leading run-scorer in the series scoring 373 runs including two half centuries and a century ' again, the only century scored by an Indian in the series. Though India did not progress to the final, victory against Sri Lanka in India's last match kept them in contention until the final fixture of the group stage. Chasing 321 to win, Kohli came to the crease with India's score at 86/2 and went on to score 133 not out from 86 balls to win with 13 overs to spare. He was named Man of the Match for his effort, which included scoring 24 runs from an over by Lasith Malinga.He was named vice-captain of the ODI team for the 2012 Asia Cup in March.

He hammered 183 off 148 balls against Pakistan in the fifth match of Asia Cup 2012, recording the joint-fourth highest score by an Indian in ODIs. Coming in at 0/1, he struck 22 fours and a six to take India to a record chase of 330. This is his highest score in One Day internationals and the highest individual score in the Asia Cup. Kohli's innings was the highest individual innings for a batsman against Pakistan in a ODI surpassing previous record by Brian Lara.