For the umpteenth time in his illustrious career, Virat Kohli etched his name in cricket’s records of fame on 5 November. With a century in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, during India’s 2023 ICC World Cup match against South Africa, the former captain equalled the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries.
Despite batting conditions in Kolkata being tricky, as Kohli himself admitted, he scored 101 runs in 121 deliveries and remained unbeaten. His knock was comprised of ten boundaries, but no sixes.
With his, he now has the joint-highest ODI centuries to his name, despite having played 174 matches fewer than Sachin Tendulkar.
Most Centuries in ODI Cricket:
1. Virat Kohli – 49 centuries in 289 matches
2. Sachin Tendulkar – 49 centuries in 463 matches
3. Rohit Sharma – 31 centuries in 259 matches
4. Ricky Ponting – 30 centuries in 375 matches
5. Sanath Jayasuriya – 28 centuries in 445 matches
However, that is not the only record Kohli made with his impeccable century. Notably, he became the first-ever cricketer to score more than one ODI century at the Eden Gardens. What makes the achievement more special is that his previous fifty-over ton in Kolkata was also his first century in this format.
Most ODI Centuries at Eden Gardens:
1. Virat Kohli – 2
2. 12 players (including Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma & Gautam Gambhir) – 1
This was also Virat Kohli’s fifth century against the Proteas in ODI cricket. Previously, Sachin Tendulkar was the only Indian batter to hold this record, although while he did so in 57 matches, Kohli has played only 31 ODIs against South Africa.
Most ODI Centuries by Indians Against South Africa:
1. Virat Kohli – 5 in 31 matches
2. Sachin Tendulkar – 5 in 57 matches
3. Shikhar Dhawan – 3 in 24 matches
4. Rohit Sharma – 3 in 26 matches
5. Sourav Ganguly – 3 in 29 matches
With this century, Kohli broke two more records of the master blaster. He now has 543 runs to his name in this edition of the ODI World Cup, surpassing Tendulkar’s tally from the 1996 and the title-winning 2011 campaign. He is now only 131 runs away from recording the best performance by an Indian batter in a single World Cup edition.
Most Runs by an Indian in a Single World Cup Edition:
1. Sachin Tendulkar – 673 runs in 2003 World Cup
2. Rohit Sharma – 648 runs in 2019 World Cup
3. Virat Kohli – 543 runs in 2023 World Cup
4. Sachin Tendulkar – 523 runs in 1996 World Cup
5. Sachin Tendulkar – 482 runs in 2011 World Cup
Moreover, Kohli became only the second batter to score 6000+ ODI runs in India. Tendulkar, in this aspect, holds the authority, with 6796 runs on home soil in this format.
Most ODI runs in India:
1. Sachin Tendulkar – 6796 runs in 164 matches
2. Virat Kohli – 6046 runs in 119 matches
3. Rohit Sharma – 4590 runs in 88 matches
4. MS Dhoni – 4351 runs in 129 matches
5. Yuvraj Singh – 3451 runs in 108 matches
Lastly, by scoring a century on the day he celebrated his 35th birthday, Kohli became only the third Indian batter to record an ODI century on his birthday – equalling Tendulkar’s feat here as well.
Highest Individual ODI Score on Birthday by an Indian:
1. Sachin Tendulkar – 134 runs (vs Australia, 1998)
2. Virat Kohli – 101* runs (vs South Africa, 2023)
3. Vinod Kambli – 100* runs (vs England, 1993)
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