Guwahati: Virat Kohli smashed his 45th ODI century – 72nd overall in international cricket – as Team India amassed 373/7 in the first of a three-match series against Sri Lanka.
Kohli, going in to bat after skipper Rohit Sharma (83 off 67 balls) and Shubman Gill (70 off 60) gave India a rollicking 143-run start, capitalised on two reprieves on 51 and 82 to score 113.
It was the former India captain’s second consecutive ODI hundred, a month after he had scored exactly the same number of runs in the final ODI against Bangladesh. The 113 he scored today came off 87 balls and included 12 fours, 1 six, while on December 11, 2022 at Chattogram, Kohli made 113 off 91 balls with 11 fours and 2 sixes.
Kohli is now 4 shy of record-holder Sachin Tendulkar’s 49 ODI tons.
Overall, Kohli took his tally of international centuries to 72 to move into second place, surpassing Ricky Ponting (71). Only the incomparable Tendulkar is ahead of him, with 100 hundreds.
TOP 5 ODI CENTURIONS
Sachin Tendulkar – 49 hundreds in 463 matches
Virat Kohli – 45 hundreds in 266 matches
Ricky Ponting – 30 hundreds in 375 matches
Rohit Sharma — 29 hundreds in 236 matches
Sanath Jayasuriya — 28 hundreds in 445 matches
TOP 5 INTERNATIONAL CENTURIONS
Sachin Tendulkar – 100 hundreds (51 in Tests + 49 in ODIs)
Virat Kohli – 72 hundreds (27 in Tests + 45 in ODIs)
Ricky Ponting – 71 hundreds (41 in Tests + 30 in ODIs)
Kumar Sangakkara – 63 hundreds (38 in Tests + 25 in ODIs)
Jacques Kallis – 62 hundreds (45 in Tests + 17 in ODIs).
