India legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli broke the all-time Indian record held by Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid for having played the most international games together during the first ODI against South Africa in Ranchi on Sunday.
Rohit and Virat were confirmed to be appearing in the series opener at the JSCA International Stadium after South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl.
FOLLOW: IND vs SA 1st ODI LIVE
Kohli, playing his 306th ODI, and Rohit, playing in his 277th one-day international, combined for their 392nd international match together across formats. The duo thereby surpassed the previous Indian record for the most matches played by a pair across formats held by the legendary Tendulkar-Dravid combo, who appeared in a whopping 391 games between 1996 and 2012.
Tendulkar began his ODI career in 1989, seven years before Dravid made his India debut in 1996, with Tendulkar being part of the playing XI for Dravid’s first game. Their final match together came in 2012. Dravid announced his international retirement following the 2011/12 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Meanwhile, Tendulkar played on until November 2013. Interestingly, both had limited T20I exposure, with Tendulkar playing one game in 2006 and Dravid playing one in 2011.
- Virat Kohli / Rohit Sharma – 392 Matches
- Sachin Tendulkar / Rahul Dravid – 391 Matches
- Rahul Dravid / Sourav Ganguly – 369 Matches
- Sachin Tendulkar / Anil Kumble – 367 Matches
- Sachin Tendulkar / Sourav Ganguly – 341 Matches
- Virat Kohli / Ravindra Jadeja – 309 Matches
Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma Breakdown
- Tests: 60 matches
- ODIs: 226 matches
- T20Is: 106 matches
Sachin Tendulkar-Rahul Dravid Breakdown
- Tests: 146 matches
- ODIs: 245 matches
Enduring champs – Rohit and Kohli partnership
Rohit debuted for India in 2007, a year before Virat Kohli made his ODI debut in 2008—a match in which Rohit was also part of the final XI. The two Indian greats went on to play all three formats together until 2024, jointly retiring from T20Is after their victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Overall, Sri Lanka legends Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara have played the most international matches together, representing the national team in a staggering 550 games.
