The 36-year-old legendary Indian international cricketer, Virat Kohli, is often hailed as one of the most lethal and dominant batsmen in international cricket. The former skipper of the Indian national cricket team recently announced his sudden retirement from the test cricket format on 12 May 2025 after earlier announcing his official retirement from the T2o internationals in June 2024 alongside Rohit Sharma.
While Virat Kohli is often commemorated by his massive fan base for his match-winning innings, he has also left the fans stunned with his impressive bowling spell over his decades-long international career. As of June 2025, Virat Kohli has picked up a total of nine international wickets, including four in the ODIs and a total of five wickets in the T20 internationals, making him one of the most deadly bowling underdogs of the Indian national cricket team.
In this article we will take a look at Virat Kohli’s bowling dominance and the nine international wickets that he picked up in the most crucial matches.
Virat Kohli’s All Nine International Wickets Explained
Brendon McCullim – India vs New Zealand, 2010
The fourth match of the Tri-Nation Series between India and New Zealand in 2010 witnessed one of the most path-breaking bowling spells from the legendary Indian international cricketer, Virat Kohli. India posted a modest total of 223 runs and the iconic top-order batting lineup of New Zealand left no stone unturned in chasing the score.
While Brendon McCullum settled at the crease and posed a strong threat to India’s bowling unit, the then skipper of the Indian side, MS Dhoni, threw in Kohli with the ball on the pitch. Virat Kohli, who had bowled fewer than 40 overs in his entire ODI career, bowled a short-pitched delivery outside off which ultimately dismissed Brendon McCullum and provided the Indian side with a match-winning moment.
Craig Kieswetter – India vs England, 2011
The fifth ODI match between India and England in 2011 at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, where India had a shortened opportunity to bowl due to a rain-affected match, Virat Kohli ruled out the match and dismissed England’s aggressively hitting batsman, Craig Kieswetter, via LBW.
Kohli bowled a straight delivery that snipped in slightly and directly hit Craig’s pads, dismissing him off just 21 runs. Although the match was dismissed due to heavy rains, Virat Kohli received enormous praise for his spine-chilling dismissal of England’s Craig Kieswetter.
Alastair Cook – India vs England, 2011
In the same fifth ODI match between India and England in 2011 at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, Virat Kohli left England’s batting lineup stunned after he dismissed Alastair Cook via a wicket-to-wicket delivery that stayed low and nipped in. England’s Alastair Cook misjudged the line and length of Kohli’s delivery and the ball sneaked in and crashed through the stumps, dismissing Alastair off fifty runs.
As mentioned earlier, although the match was dismissed due to heavy rains, Virat Kohli displayed his finest bowling performance throughout the match, picking up the two most crucial wickets of the England side.
Kevin Pietersen – India vs England, 2011
Kohli showcased his bowling dominance all over again in the fifth ODI match against England in 2011 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on October 25, 2011. In the 22nd over of the match, when England had already lost some of the most crucial wickets, including Trott, Cook, Bairstow, and Bopara, India’s then-captain, MS Dhoni, brought in Kohli as a part-time bowler to fill in a few overs.
Interestingly, Dhoni’s decision worked in India’s favour as Kohli delivered a gentle off-cutter with not much pace or turn as Kevin Pietersen tried to drive or push at the delivery. The ball took a thin outside edge and India’s Parthiv Patel moved sharply to his left and took a neat low catch, dismissing England’s Kevin Pietersen.
Mohammad Hafeez – India vs Pakistan, 2012
The second T20 international match between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru (India) on 25 December 2012 witnessed Virat Kohli taking on Pakistan’s top-order batting lineup with a fierce bowling approach. The high-voltage drama between India and Pakistan undoubtedly levelled up when Kohli came in to bowl during the sixth over of the match.
On the very first delivery of the over, Virat Kohli dismissed Mohammad Hafeez with a medium pace delivery caught by Yuvraj Singh at point. Although India ended up losing the match against Pakistan, Virat Kohli’s bowling dominance received enormous praise and attention from cricket aficionados from all over the world.
Tillakaratne Dilshan – India vs Sri Lanka, 2012
Virat Kohli delivered one of the most sensational innings with the ball during the India vs Sri Lanka – 11th Match, Commonwealth Bank (CB) Series on 28 February 2012 at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart, Australia. The destructive opener of the Sri Lankan side, Tillakaratne Dilshan, was silenced by Kohli with a tight-line delivery which was caught by Suresh Raina.
Despite being one of the most reliable openers for Sri Lanka in the crucial matches, Tillakaratne Dilshan could manage to score just 160 runs before being brutally dismissed by Kohli. India eventually won the match by seven wickets.
Johnson Charles – India vs West Indies, 2014
The fourth ODI match between India and West Indies on 11 October 2014 at the iconic Feroz Shah Kotla (now Arun Jaitley Stadium), Delhi, witnessed Kohli pick up one of the most glorious wickets of his international cricketing career. Although Kohli was hailed as a prominent batsman, he was handed the ball to break a building momentum by the West Indies openers. Interestingly, Kohli tricked the West Indies batting sensation Johnson Charles into a loose shot. Charles went on for a big hit and ended up losing his wicket due to bad timing. Johnson Charles was caught by Umesh Yadav, providing Kohli with one of the most talked-about wickets in international cricket.
Quinton de Kock – India vs South Africa, 2015
Kohli has been widely regarded as one of the most lethal underdog bowlers for the Indian cricket team in international matches as the stalwart has proved his calibre in picking up crucial wickets and providing India with a crucial breakthrough in challenging times.
Kohli displayed the same dominating balling calibre in the fifth ODI between India and South Africa on 25 October 2015. While the South African opening duo Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla were dominating the Indian bowling unit, Kohli walked in to break partnerships and stem the run flow.
The Indian stalwart, Kohli, delivered a tidy line and forced de Kock into a misjudged shot. As Quinton de Koch attempted to play the ball, it went over the top and was caught by Mohit Sharma. Although the Indian side ended up losing the match, Kohli’s master delivery spoke volumes about his balling dominance.
Asela Gunaratne – India vs Sri Lanka, 2017
The third ODI match between India and Sri Lanka on 27 August 2017 at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo witnessed one of the most fierce bowling performances by Indian legend Virat Kohli. Often hailed as one of the most lethal middle-order batsmen of the Sri Lankan side, Asela Gunaratne looked steady in the innings against India when Kohli walked onto the pitch as a part-time bowler in the 31st over of the match.
Sri Lanka’s Asela Gunaratne ended up playing Kohli’s low paced delivery, and it stopped slightly off the pitch, landing straight into Kohli’s hands as he dived to take the catch. India ended up defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets at the end of the match.
