NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli’s extraordinary form reached new heights on Wednesday, yet his second successive century was not enough to prevent South Africa from scripting a series-levelling chase of 359 in Raipur. Despite Kohli’s majestic 102 — his 53rd ODI hundred — India suffered a four-wicket defeat as Aiden Markram’s 110 led the Proteas to a thrilling win with four balls to spare. The three-match ODI series now moves to a decider in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Kohli, who stitched a record 195-run stand with Ruturaj Gaikwad (105), was at his vintage best, producing a masterclass in timing, placement and pressure handling. But beyond the heartbreak of defeat, the 37-year-old rewrote the history books once again, further strengthening his status as one of the greatest ODI batters.
The century took Kohli level with Sachin Tendulkar for most ODI hundreds at 34 different venues, while Rohit Sharma (26) remains a distant second among active players. The Raipur knock also extended Kohli’s astonishing record of consecutive ODI century streaks — he now has 11 separate instances of scoring tons in back-to-back innings, almost double of AB de Villiers’ six.Kohli’s dominance against South Africa stands unparalleled as well. His latest ton was his seventh against the Proteas, the most by any batter, pushing him ahead of legends like Tendulkar and David Warner (five each). He now has seven or more ODI centuries against four different nations — Sri Lanka (10), West Indies (9), Australia (8) and South Africa (7) — a feat previously achieved only by Tendulkar across multiple opponents – nine vs Australia and eight vs Sri Lanka..Even more staggering is his conversion rate. Kohli has converted 41.4% of his 50-plus scores into hundreds (53 out of 128), the highest in ODI history among batters with at least 100 innings. No other active cricketer comes close, with Hashim Amla (40.91%) being the nearest.While Kohli delivered numbers that may remain unmatched for decades, Gaikwad, too, showcased his class with the fastest ODI century for India against South Africa (77 balls). Their partnership also became India’s highest in ODIs against the Proteas, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik’s 194-run stand from 2010.
