Century number 84! Virat Kohli Smashes 2nd Straight ODI Ton vs South Africa, Moves Closer to Sachin Tendulkar's 100-Century Record
Virat 'The King' Kohli has slammed his 53rd One-Day International century. He achieved this feat in the second ODI against South Africa played in Raipur. This is also Virat's eighty-fourth international century. He reached his century in 99 balls in the second ODI. Kohli has scored 50 or more runs in the third consecutive match, and this is his second consecutive century.
Virat Kohli is the first cricketer in the world to score centuries in two consecutive ODI innings 11 times. Following him on the list of centuries in consecutive ODI innings is AB de Villiers, who has done so six times.
This former Indian captain has been giving the South African team sleepless nights in his last three innings. He has scored centuries in each of his last three ODI innings against South Africa. Previously, he scored an unbeaten 101 against South Africa in the 2023 ODI World Cup. He has also scored centuries in both innings of the current series.
Consecutives centuries in the 50-over was way too easy for Virat during his prime years in International cricket between 2016-2019, and this latest ton in Raipur is the 11th instance in his career.
No player in the history of the 50-over has ever accomplished as many back-2-bacl tons as him. The Raipur hundred additionally strengthened the record that he recaptured in Ranchi, pushing him four clear of the legendary Indian Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar in terms of number of hundreds scored in ODI Cricket. With eighty-four international tons to his name, Kohli is ahead of England's right hander Joe Root by 26, the next active player in the list of most centuries slammed in International Cricket, and only 16 behind the legendary 100 centuries of Sachin.
Kohli answers critics
There has been constant debate about Kohli's participation in the 2027 ODI World Cup for some time now. However, Kohli's current form has strengthened his case for this global tournament. Kohli now plays only in the ODI for India, and there has been constant debate about how he will maintain his match fitness for this tournament, which takes place in two years. However, Kohli has answered those critics by scoring two consecutive centuries in this series.
Kohli scored 50+ in ODI for the 13th time in a row.
During this period, Kohli scored his second consecutive 50+ score against South Africa. This is also the third consecutive match in which he scored 50+. Before this, Kohli had scored unbeaten 74 runs against Australia in Sydney, while he had played an innings of 135 runs in the first ODI against South Africa. This is the 13th time when he has scored 50+ scores three or more times in a row in ODI. This is the highest in this format. Rohit Sharma is at second place in this matter who has done this 11 times, while Sachin Tendulkar has scored 50+ scores in three consecutive matches in ODI 10 times.
The biggest ODI partnership between South Africa and India
Batting first, India lost the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal early, after which Kohli along with Ruturaj Gaikwad took charge of the innings. Before Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad scored the first century of his ODI career, but after scoring the century, Gaikwad was caught out and returned to the pavilion. Gaikwad scored 105 runs. Kohli and Gaikwad made a partnership of 195 runs for the fourth wicket. This is the biggest partnership for any wicket in ODI between India and South Africa. The pair of Kohli and Gaikwad surpassed Sachin and Dinesh Karthik in this matter, who had made a partnership of 194 runs against this team in Gwalior in 2010.
Kohli Climbs, Gill Drops: Rohit Sharma Maintains World No. 1 Spot in Latest ODI Batting Rankings
