New Delhi:
Virat Kohli scoring a century is no longer news. It is assumed that each time the Indian cricket team captain steps out to bat, a big score is just another formality. In the Ranchi ODI against Australia, Kohli displayed his mettle and he cemented his legacy as one of the modern-day greats in cricket by smashing a record 41st century. In the process, Kohli continued to shatter records just for fun in ODIs. Looking at the way how Kohli is scoring centuries, it might not be impossible for the Indian cricket team skipper to overhaul Sachin Tendulkar’s world record tally of 49 runs in this year alone.
The first major record broken by Kohli in Ranchi was 4000 runs as skipper. The Indian skipper became the fastest to reach 4000 ODI runs as skipper, needing just 63 innings to reach the landmark. He broke the record set by AB de Villiers, who needed 81 innings to reach 4000 runs. In the Nagpur ODI, Kohli had become the fastest to 9000 international runs as skipper. Kohli and de Villiers are the only players to have reached 4000 runs as skipper in ODIs in less than 100 innings. In fact, as captain, Kohli’s average is a staggering 83.
His 41st ODI century was also Virat Kohli’s eighth in ODIs against Australia. He is now second in the all-time list of centuries scored against the five-time world champions, behind Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of nine centuries. Rohit Sharma is close with seven centuries. The remarkable thing in this is that while Tendulkar took 71 matches to reach nine centuries, Kohli has achieved eight tons in just 34 games, meaning a century in every four matches. His century break-up is five centuries at home and three in Australia.
When it comes to chasing in ODIs, there is no one better than Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper notched up his 25th century while chasing in one-day internationals, which is the most by any player. In the second innings, he averages 68.71. The fact that India lost the match is a rare phenomenon. In the 25 centuries that Kohli has scored, India has won 21 and lost just four games. The loss against Australia was the second time India lost to them when Kohli scored a ton, having suffered defeat in the Canberra ODI when he smashed 106 in 2016.
Although India lost, they still lead the series 2-1 and heading into the final game in Mohali, Kohli would be aiming to shatter more records.
