In the opening ODI between India and South Africa in Ranchi on Sunday, Virat Kohli scored his 52nd ODI century, adding another feather to his already impressive ODI cap. In addition to anchoring the Indian innings, the majestic knock saw the former skipper set new records, solidifying his place among the game’s unquestionable greats.
With the century, Kohli easily surpassed the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s 49 tons, extending his own record for the most hundreds by any player in men’s ODI cricket. The Master Blaster Tendulkar’s enormous record was broken by Kohli when he reached his 52nd ODI century, making him the player with the most hundreds in a single format.
With 51 hundreds in Test cricket, Tendulkar and Kohli shared the record until Kohli hit the triple-digit mark in Ranchi. Kohli’s 52nd ODI hundred was the 7000th individual hundred in Men’s international cricket.
This century marks Kohli’s sixth ODI hundred versus South Africa. Kohli now has the most ODI hundreds against South Africa (6), surpassing five each by Sachin Tendulkar and David Warner. With five hundreds apiece, the three of them had previously shared the top rank.
In addition, the three-figure score was his 83rd international century in all cricket formats, ranking him second in cricket history only to Tendulkar’s 100 tons. It is a clear indication that the 36-year-old batting legend is still motivated to pursue the sport’s last, enormous frontier.
His timeless cover drives and deft strike rotation defined the innings, which was a great demonstration of poise and elegance. After Yashasvi Jaiswal’s dismissal, Kohli came to the crease early and worked with longtime partner Rohit Sharma to stabilize the innings, setting the stage for a huge score.
Prior to the commencement of the series, Kohli required 337 runs to reach the milestone of 28,000 runs in international cricket, which has only been accomplished by Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara. Kohli will also aim to reach this milestone in the three-match series against South Africa.
Most ODI hundreds at an Indian venue:
3 in 5 innings – Virat Kohli, Ranchi
3 in 7 innings – Sachin Tendulkar, Vadodara
3 in 7 innings – Virat Kohli, Visakhapatnam
3 in 8 innings – Virat Kohli, Pune
Powered by Kohli’s 135-run knock that came off 120 balls and studded with 7 sixes and 11 fours, and aided by Rohit Sharma’s 51-ball 57 and captain KL Rahul’s 56-ball 60, India finished at 349/8 in their 50 overs.
