Indian batter Virat Kohli slammed his 53rd century in ODI cricket, as he touched the three-figure mark against South Africa in Raipur on Wednesday.
Kohli hit seven fours and two maximums, maintaining a strike rate close to 110 as he added another ton to his tally from the ongoing series against the visiting Proteas.
The former skipper was eventually undone by Lungi Ngidi in the 40th over, as he handed a catch to Aiden Markram, but the innings was another masterclass in structuring a dependable ODI knock.
The right-handed batter had to enter the crease earlier than expected due to Rohit Sharma’s dismissal in the fifth over. However, he got into the groove of things seamlessly, getting off the mark with a maximum and then resorting to timely rotation of strike to reinforce pressure on the visitors.
Kohli stitched a valuable partnership with Ruturaj Gaikwad, as the duo joined hands to add up nearly 200 runs on the board and completely rendered the South African bowling unit toothless in the crucial middle overs.
The 37-year-old had entered this series on the back of a mixed bag of a tour to Australia. Down Under, Kohli departed for a duck in the opening two ODIs, before striking back with a 70+ knock in the dead rubber final game. In the interim, he didn’t even play in the India A series against South Africa, where Gaikwad was the topmost run scorer.
First Published: Dec 3, 2025 4:29 PM IST
