Virat Kohli has closed in on Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most international centuries as he slammed a brilliant hundred in the third ODI of the series in Indore. Check how far is Kohli now after his hundred in the series decider.
Indian icon Virat Kohli continued his Midas touch in ODI cricket as he slammed a stellar hundred in the third match of the series against New Zealand on Sunday, January 18. Kohli hit 124 in India’s unsuccessful chase of 338 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore as the Men in Blue went down by 41 runs.
Kohli is in an insane form in ODI cricket, as he has taken the clock back to 2016, when he was in jaw-dropping touch. He has hit six fifty-plus scores in his last seven outings for the Men in Blue, with three of those six being centuries.ย
Kohli scored a masterful 135 and a 102 against South Africa earlier and came within touching distance of a century in the first ODI against the Kiwis. However, he fell seven short in that game in Vadodara.
But not today, as the batting maestro played a breathtaking knock and completed his 54th ODI century, albeit in vain. With yet another century, Kohli has closed in on Sachin Tendulkar’s world record for most centuries in international cricket.
How many tons Kohli need to break Tendulkar’s world record?
This was Kohli’s 85th century in international cricket, as he has also scored 30 tons in Tests and one in T20Is. Kohli is now 15 hundreds behind Tendulkar’s all-time record of 100 centuries across the three formats. Kohli is already in second place but would find it hard to go on top and surpass his idol.
Most centuries in international cricket:
1 – Sachin Tendulkar: 100 centuries
2 – Virat Kohli: 85 centuries
3 – Ricky Ponting: 71 centuries
4 – Kumar Sangakkara: 63 centuries
5 – Jacques Kallis: 62 centuries
Kohli already holds the record for most centuries in ODIs and in a single format, as he is above Sachin in both of these tallies. During his legendary career, Tendulkar scored 51 centuries in Test cricket and 49 in ODIs. He had played just one T20I and had scored 10 in that game.
Coming back to the match, Kohli’s brilliant hundred in the series decider went in vain as New Zealand defeated the Men in Blue in the series decider by 41 runs. With this victory, the Kiwis have registered their first-ever ODI series win in India in 37 years.
Kohli held India’s dwindling hopes alive as he found little support from the other end. But with the target too tall and only a handful of batters contributing, the Men in Blue could not cross the line despite Kohli scoring a masterful 124.