Virat Kohli Smashes Record 53rd ODI Century Against South Africa

Virat Kohli once again etched his name into cricketing history by scoring his 53rd ODI century in the second ODI game against South Africa. The match took place at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. It took him just 90 deliveries to reach the 100-run mark. This was his second century in the three-match series, and he has now scored two or more consecutive centuries in ODIs on 11 occasions.

Kohli’s performance was nothing short of spectacular. It was his 7th century against South Africa in ODIs in just 31 innings. South Africa is now the fourth opponent, after Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and Australia, against whom Kohli has scored seven or more centuries in ODIs. Only the legendary Sachin Tendulkar has achieved this feat against multiple opponents.

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Virat Kohli Batter

Virat Kohli is a professional cricketer and former captain of the Indian national team.

The numbers tell the story: Kohli was dismissed for 102 runs off 93 deliveries, hitting seven fours and two sixes. He has made three centuries this year and has accumulated 586 runs in 12 innings. Since his debut in 2008, Kohli has hit three or more centuries in a year on 11 occasions.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Virat Kohli formed a record-breaking partnership. After India lost the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal for 62 runs in the 10th over, Gaikwad came out to bat. Kohli was already in the middle, and together they put on a show. Gaikwad played an impressive knock of 105 runs off 83 deliveries before getting dismissed in the 36th over.

The partnership between Kohli and Gaikwad was remarkable. They scored 195 runs for the third wicket, the highest partnership for India for any wicket against South Africa. This record surpassed the previous one held by Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik, who had added 194 runs for the second wicket in 2010. That was the same game where Sachin made his double-century in ODIs.

Gaikwad’s century was his maiden ODI century. He scored the second-fastest century against South Africa for India in ODIs. The fastest was by Yusuf Pathan, who took just 68 deliveries to reach the mark in Centurion in 2011.

In the end, India finished their innings at 358/5 in 50 overs, with Virat Kohli scoring 102 and Ruturaj Gaikwad making 105. South Africa was set a target of 359 runs to win.

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India Founded: 1926

The India National Cricket Team represents India in international cricket and is one of the strongest teams in the world.

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South Africa Founded: 1889

The South Africa cricket team, known as the Proteas, is one of the strongest sides in international cricket, although they have gained the choker tag for their inability to win ICC tournaments.