New DelhiOn Sunday, January 18, in the third game of the series against New Zealand, the Indian legend continued his Midas touch in ODI cricket by hitting a brilliant century. In India's futile chase of 338 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, Kohli scored 124 as the Men in Blue lost by 41 runs.
In ODI cricket, Kohli is in such incredible form that he has transported the clock back to 2016, when he was in incredible form. In his last seven games for the Men in Blue, he has scored six fifty-plus runs, three of which have been hundreds.
In the first ODI against the Kiwis, Kohli came dangerously close to a century after scoring a brilliant 135 and a 102 against South Africa earlier. But in that Vadodara match, he lost by seven points.
But not today, when the batting maestro finished his 54th ODI century—albeit in vain—with an incredible knock. With another century, Kohli is getting closer to breaking the world record for the most centuries in international cricket.
How many tons does Kohli need to surpass the world record set by Tendulkar?In addition to his 30 tons in Tests and one in Twenty20 Internationals, this was Kohli's 85th century in international cricket. Tendulkar's record of 100 hundreds in all three formats is currently 15 hundreds ahead of Kohli. Although Kohli is currently in second place, it would be difficult for him to overtake his idol because it would take him 15 hundreds to level him and 16 to pass him.
In international cricket, the most centuries:1. Sachin Tendulkar: One hundred centuries
2. Virat Kohli: 85 hundreds
3. Ricky Ponting: 71 centuries
4. Kumar Sangakkara: sixty-three centuries
5. Jacques Kallis: sixty-two centuries
Since Kohli surpasses Sachin in both of these totals, he already holds the record for most hundreds in ODIs and in a single format. Tendulkar amassed 51 hundreds in Test cricket and 49 in One-Day Internationals during his illustrious career. He had only participated in one Twenty20 International, where he scored ten runs.
Returning to the game, New Zealand defeated the Men in Blue by 41 runs in the series decider, despite Kohli's outstanding century. With this triumph, the Kiwis have won their first ODI series in India in 37 years.
With little help from the opposition, Kohli kept India's dwindling hopes alive. Even though Kohli scored a brilliant 124, the Men in Blue were unable to cross the line because the target was too high and only a few batters were contributing.