Star India batter Virat Kohli smacked his 84th international century against South Africa at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. The former India captain is in phenomenal form with the bat at the moment, having scored his second consecutive ton against the Proteas. In the previous game, he made 135 runs off 120 balls and kept up with the momentum in the second ODI to further cement his spot for the ODI World Cup 2027.
Meanwhile, this was also Kohli’s 40th century at home in international cricket. Only Sachin Tendulkar is ahead of him in the legendary list. If the 37-year-old continues to play ODI cricket till 2027, he has the perfect opportunity to break another of Tendulkar’s world records.
Most centuries at home:
| Player | Centuries |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 42 |
| Virat Kohli | 40 |
| Ricky Ponting | 36 |
| Joe Root | 34 |
| David Warner | 31 |
Ahead of the ODI series, there were plenty of discussions regarding Kohli’s future in international cricket. With two back-to-back centuries, he has certainly put all the questions to rest. The veteran reached the milestone in just 90 balls, which also shows that he has significantly improved his strike rate in the format.
Ruturaj Gaikwad also completes century
Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was slotted at number four in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, has also established his authority in the second ODI of the series. He smacked his maiden ODI century, scoring 105 runs off 83 balls. Like Kohli, Gaikwad too didn't compromise with the strike rate and played some brilliant shots in the middle. He was dismissed by Marco Jansen in the 36th over of the match.
Notably, the duo stitched a partnership of 195 runs, which put India at the driver's seat in the second ODI. They will hope to finish well with the bat and for the same, KL Rahul has been promoted to bat at number five. India aims to use the final 10 overs to their advantage and possibly touch the 400-run mark.