Virat Kohli hammers ton in second successive ODI, his 53rd
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Veteran Indian batter Virat Kohli continues his sublime run in ODI cricket. The 37-year-old reached three figures for the second successive ODI, this time in Raipur against South Africa. Kohli powered India in the 2nd ODI with a 195-run stand with Ruturaj Gaikwad. He raced to his 53rd ODI century. Notably, Kohli now has 50-plus scores in his last three ODIs.
Knock
Another magnificent ton from Kohli
Kohli came to the middle after Nandre Burger sent Rohit Sharma back in the fifth over. India had a positive start after SA elected to field. Kohli joined Yashasvi Jaiswal, whose dismissal in the 10th over left India at 62/2. The former then joined forces with Gaikwad, guiding India past 250. He gave another masterclass in ODI batting, reaching his ton off 90 balls.
Century
53rd ODI ton for Kohli
As mentioned, Kohli raced to his 53rd century in ODI cricket. No other batter has more than 49 hundreds in the format. With over 14,450 runs, Kohli is the second-highest run-scorer in ODI history, only behind Sachin Tendulkar (18,426). Kohli now has the most tons in India-South Africa ODIs (7), surpassing Quinton de Kock and Ab de Villiers (6 each).
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Second player with this feat
Earlier in the match, Kohli became the second player with 6,500 ODI runs at home. Kohli joined Tendulkar, who bowed out with 6,976 runs from 164 home ODIs, averaging a fine 48.11. He hammered 20 tons and 38 half-centuries.
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Stunning streak of Kohli
According to Cricbuzz, Kohli now has 13 different streaks of three-plus successive innings of 50-plus scores in ODI cricket. The next-best such streak is 11 by Rohit Sharma. He is followed by Tendulkar (10).