Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has matched the long-standing record of Sachin Tendulkar for the most centuries in One Day International (ODI) matches. Kohli achieved his 49th century in the ICC World Cup 2023 game against South Africa on his 35th birthday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. He reached this milestone in just 289 matches and 277 innings, while Tendulkar had taken 451 innings to score his 49th century. Kohli is now just one short of Tendulkar’s record of 100 centuries across all formats.
In addition, Kohli has scored two centuries in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023, making him the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament after South Africa’s Quinton de Kock. He currently has a batting average of over 100 and a strike rate of approximately 85. This is also the first time in his career that Kohli has scored over 500 runs in an ODI World Cup.
Kohli’s latest century adds to his impressive performance in 2023, where he has scored over 1,000 runs with the help of five centuries, averaging over 70 and maintaining a strike rate of nearly 100. This is the eighth time in his career that he has scored over 1,000 ODI runs in a year, surpassing Tendulkar’s record of seven.
In the match against South Africa, Kohli’s unbeaten 101 runs played a crucial role in India’s total of 326-5 in 50 overs. He shared a partnership of 134 runs with Shreyas Iyer (77) after captain Rohit Sharma (40) won the toss on a challenging pitch.