Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner presented Team India star Virat Kohli with a special birthday cake after their first ODI against New Zealand. The Men in Blue are in New Zealand for a multi-format tour and played the first ODI of the five-match series at Eden Park in Auckland on Wednesday, November 4.
After the game, Nick Sautner presented Virat Kohli with a birthday cake. The veteran Indian batter celebrates his 38th birthday on Thursday, November 5, 2026. Kohli and Sautner posed with the cake and were all smiles. The Eden Park CEO was dressed in formal attire, while Kohli was seen in India’s ODI practice kit.
The special cake had the tricolours of the Indian flag on it and a picture of Kohli batting. His name could be seen on the face of the bat.
“Happy Birthday. From Eden Park, New Zealand’s National Stadium,” was written on the cake.
Below is a picture of the same –
Virat Kohli treated his fans in India and across the globe with a special knock ahead of his birthday. In the first ODI, which the Men in Blue won by five wickets, he smashed a stunning half-century, scoring 74 runs off 51 balls with 13 fours and a six at a strike rate of 145.1.
Virat Kohli becomes first batter to reach 13000 ODI runs at No.3
Virat Kohli also achieved a massive milestone during his innings in the first ODI. He became the first batter to reach 13000 runs in the format while batting at No.3. The star batter has 13062 runs from 251 innings at an average of 61.61 and a strike rate of 95.58, with 48 hundreds and 70 fifties.
He also achieved other notable records. Kohli surpassed the legendary Sachin Tendulkar for the most runs in ODIs while chasing. He now has 8741 runs from 180 games at an average of 66.21 and a strike rate of 95.03, with 30 hundreds and 46 fifties, while Tendulkar scored 8720 runs in ODI chases.
Kohli is now also on par with Australian great Ricky Ponting for the most runs against New Zealand. He has 1971 runs from 37 matches at an average of 57.97 and a strike rate of 97.87, with seven hundreds and 11 half-centuries.
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Edited by Rishab Vm
