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In August 2008,kohli was included in the India ODI squad for tour of Sri Lanka and the champions trophy in Pakistan. Prior to the sri Lankan tour, kohli had played only eight list A matches. Si his selection was called a” surprise call -up”. During the sri Lankan tour, as both first – choice openers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender sehwag were injured, kohli batted as a makeshift openers throughout the series. He made his international debut, at the age of 19,in the first ODI of the tour and was dismissed for 12. He mad his first ODI half century, a score of 54,in the fourth match. He had scores of 37,25 and 31 in the other three matches. India won the series 3-2 which was Indias first ODI series win against Sri Lanka in Sri lanka.

After the postponement of champions Trophy to 2009, kohli was picked as a replacement for the injured shikhar Dhawan in the India A squad for the unofficial Tests against Australian A in September 2008. He batted only once in the two – match series, and scored 49 in that innings. Later that month in September 2008,he played for Delhi in the Nissar Trophy against SNGPL. And top – scored for Delhi in both innings, with 52 and 197. The match was drawn but SNGPL won the trophy on first – innings lead. In October 2008,kohli played for Indian board president’s XI in a four day tour match against Australia.

Kohli after recovering from a minor shoulder injiry, returned to the national team replacing the injured Gautam Gambhir in the Indian squad for the tri series in sri Lanka. He batted at number 4 for India in the 2009 ICC champions Trophy because of an injury at Yuvraj Singh . In the group match against the west indies, kohli scored an unbeaten 79 in Indias successful Chase of 130 and awarded man of the match award. Kohli played as a reserve batsman in the seven match home ODI series against Australia, appearing in two matches.

He found a place in the home ODI series against Sri Lanka in December 2009 and scored 27 and 54 in the first two ODIs before making way for Yuvraj who regained fitness for the third ODI However, Yuvraj’s finger injury recurred leading to him being ruled out indefinitely. Kohli returned to the team in the fourth ODI at Kolkata and scored his first ODI century -107 off 114 balls – sharing a 224 – run partnership for the third wicket with Gambhir, who made his personal best score of 150. India won by seven wickets to seal the series 3-1. The man of the match was awarded to Gambhir who gave the award to kohli.

Tendulkar was rested for the tri- nation ODI tournament in Bangaladesh in January 2010,which enabled kohli to play in each of India ‘s five matches. Against Bangaladesh, he scored 91 to help secure a win after India collapsed to 51/3 early in their run – chase of 297. In the next match against Sri Lanka, Kohli ended unbeaten on 71 to help India win the match with a bonus point having chased down their target of 214 within 33overs. The next day, he scored his second ODI century, against Bangaladesh, bringing up the mark with the winning runs. He became only the third Indian batsman to score two ODI centuries before their 22nd birthday, after Tendulkar and Suresh Raina. Kohli was much praised for his performances during the series in particular by the Indian captain Dhoni. Although kohli made only two runs in the final against Sri Lanka in a four – wicket Indian defeat, he finished as the leading run- getter of the series with 275 runs from five innings at an average of 91.66. In the three – match ODI series at home against South Africa in February, kohli batted in two games and had scores of 31 and 57

Raina was named captain and kohli vice -captain for the tri- series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in may – june 2010, as many first – choice players skipped the tour. Kohli made 168 runs at average of 42.00 including two fiftie, but India suffered three defeated in four matches and crashed out of the series. During the series, kohli became the fastest Indian batsman to reache 1,000 runs in ODI cricket. He made his T20l debut against Zimbabwe at Harare and scored an unbeaten 26. Later that month, kohli batted at 3 in an Indian team throughout the 2010 Asia cup and scored a total of 67 runs at an average of 16.75. His struggles with from continued in the tri – series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Sri Lanka where he averaged 15.

Despite the poor run of from, kohli was retained in the ODI squad for a three – match series against Australia in October, and in the only completed match of the series at Visakhapatnam, scored his third ODI century -118 off 121 balls – which helped India reach the target of 290 after losing the openers early. Winning the man of the match, he admitted that he was under pressure to keep his place in the team after failures in the two previous series. Part of a largely inexperienced teamfor the home. ODI series against New Zealand, kohli scored a match – winning 104 ball 105,his fourth ODI hundred and second in succession, in the first game, and followed it up with 64 and 63* in next two matches. India completed a 5-0 whitewash of New Zealand, while Kohli’s performance in the series helped him become a regular in the ODI team and made him a strong contender for a spot in Indias World Cup squad. He was India ‘s leading run – scorer in ODIs in 2010,with 995 runs from 25 matches at an average of 47.38 including three centuries and seven fifties.

Kohli was India’s leading run- getter in the five – match ODI series of the south African tour in January 2011,with 193 runs at an average of 48.25 including two fifties, both in Indian defeats. During the series, he jumped to number two spot on the ICC Rankings for ODI batsmen, and was named in india’s 15 man squad for the world cup. The inclusion of both Kohli and Raina in the world cup squad resulted in speculations about which of the playing eleven. Days before Indias first match of the tournament, Indian captain Dhoni indicated that the in from Kohli is likely to be preferred over Raina.

Kohli played in every match of India’s successful World cup campaign. He scored an unbeaten 100,his fifth ODI century, in the first match against Bangaladesh an became the first indian batsman to score a cenon world cup debut. In the next four group matches he had low score of 8,34,12 and 1 against England, Ireland, Netherlands and south African respectively. Having returned to form with 59 against the west indies. He scored 35,sharing an 83 run partnership with Gambhir for the third wicket after india had lost both openers within the seventh over chasing 275. The partnership is regarded as one of the turning points in the match as India went on to match by six wickets and lift the world cup for the first time since 1983.

Kohli fielding during a match in December 2010

When India toured the west Indies in June – july 2011,they selected a largely inexperienced squad, resting Tendulkar and others such as Gambhir and Sehwag missing out due to injuries. Kohli was one of three uncapped players in the test squad. He found success in the ODI series which India won 3-2, with a total of 199 runs at an average of 39.80. His best efforts came in the second ODI at port of Spain where he won the man of the match for his score of 81 which gave India a seven – wicket victory and the fifth ODI at Kingston where his innings of 94 came in a seven wicket defeat kohli made his Test debut at Kingston in the first match of the test series that followed. He batted at 5 and was dismissed for 4 and 15 caught behind by fidel Edwards in both innings. India went on to win the test series 1-0 but kohli amassed just 76 runs from five innings, struggling against the short ball and was particularly troubled by the fast bowling of Edwards, who dismissed him three times in the series.

Initially dropped from the test squad for Indias four- match series in England in july and August due to poor performance in his debut series, kohli was recalled as a replacement for the injured Yuv, thought did not play in any match in the series. He found moderate success in the subsequent ODI series in which he averaged 38.80. His score of 55 in the first ODI at Chester – le – street was followed by a string of low scors in the next three matches. In the last game of the series, kohli scored his sixth ODI hundred -107 runs off 93 balls and shared a 170 run third wicket partnership with Rahul Dravid, who was playing his last ODI, to help India post their first 300 plus total of the tour. Kohli was dismissed hit wicket in that and earned him praise for his ” hard work ” and ” maturity “. However, England won the match by D/l method and the series 3-0.

In October 2011,kohli was the leading run- score of the five match home ODI series against England which India won 5-0. He scored a total of 270 runs across five matches at an average of 90, including unbeaten knocks of 112 from 98 balls at Delhi, where he put on an unbroken 209 run partnership with Gambhir, and 86 at Mumbai, both in successful run chases. Owing to his ODI success, Kohli was included, ahead of Raina, in the test squad to face the west Indies in November. In competition with Yuvraj Singh for the number six position. It was not unit the final match of the series that Kohli was selected in the team. He scored a pair of fifties in the match, with his first innings score of 52 ensuring India avoided follow on. India won the subsequent ODI series 4- 1 in which Kohli managed to accumulate 243 runs at 60.75.

During the series, Kohli scored his eighth ODI century and his second at Visakhapatnam, where he made 117 off 123 balls in Indias run chase of 270 a knock which raised his reputation ad an expert of the chase ” kohli ended up as the leading run getter in ODIs for the year 2011, with 1381 runs from 34 matches at 47.62 including four centuries and eight fifties.