Kohli makes history: 52nd century shatters Sachin’s record

Ranchi (The Uttam Hindu) : Virat Kohli scored a century in the first match of the ongoing ODI series against South Africa at the JSCA International Stadium. Kohli reached the century in just 102 balls, marking his 52nd ODI century.

Virat Kohli is the batsman who has scored the most centuries in the ODI format. The 37-year-old batsman has scored 52 centuries in 306 matches. During this period, Kohli has scored more than 14 thousand runs. He has hit more than 150 sixes in this format. Sachin Tendulkar is at the second position in terms of scoring the most centuries in ODI cricket, who has scored 49 centuries in 463 matches. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma is at the third position with 33 centuries in 277 ODI matches. Ricky Ponting has scored 30 centuries, while Sanath Jayasuriya has scored 28 centuries. These players are at the fourth and fifth positions respectively.

Virat Kohli has retired from Test and T20 formats. Now, the right-handed batsman plays only in the ODI format for Team India. Fans want Kohli to play in the 2027 ODI World Cup, but that decision will largely depend on Kohli's fitness. However, after the third ODI against Australia, Kohli has once again proven himself in the Ranchi ODI against South Africa.

Virat Kohli failed to open his account in the first two ODIs of the Australia tour. However, he followed that up with an unbeaten 74 in the final match of the series in Sydney. During this period, Kohli shared an unbroken 168-run partnership with Rohit Sharma. South Africa swept the two-match Test series against India 2-0. Therefore, Team India will be looking to take revenge on the visiting team by winning the three-match ODI series.