Last Updated:December 06, 2025, 07:47 IST
A century in the third ODI against South Africa will help Kohli become the second batter after Babar Azam to score a hat-trick of ODI centuries multiple times.
Virat Kohli will have a chance to equal Babar Azam’s world record in third India-South Africa ODI. (Picture Credit: AP and AFP)
Virat Kohli is on fire with the bat for Team India in the ongoing three-match series against South Africa. The 37-year-old right-handed batter from Delhi has scored centuries for the hosts in the first two 50-over matches played in Ranchi and Raipur on November 30 and December 3, respectively, and he would like to come up with another big show in the series decider, which is set to be played at Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, December 6. If Kohli manages to score a century in the third ODI as well, then he will become the second batter in the world after Babar Azam to score three back-to-back ODI centuries multiple times.
Babar, who is one of the best Pakistani batters of all time, has scored three centuries in three ODI matches twice in his career so far, whereas Kohli has achieved the feat once so far. He will have a chance to equal Babar’s elite record on Saturday in Visakhapatnam, which is one of his favourite grounds. In Vizag, Kohli has played seven ODIs for India so far, and on three occasions, he has scored a century.
A total of 12 batters so far have scored three centuries in three ODIs, but Babar is the only one to do it multiple times.
ODI hundreds in consecutive innings
PLAYERCOUNTRYSCOREAGAINSTVENUEDATEZaheer AbbasPakistan118IndiaMultanDecember 17, 1982105IndiaLahoreDecember 31, 1982113IndiaKarachiJanuary 21, 1983Saeed AnwarPakistan107Sri LankaSharjahOctober 30, 1993131West IndiesSharjahNovember 1, 1993111Sri LankaSharjahNovember 2, 1993Herschelle GibbsSouth Africa116KenyaColombo (RPS)September 20, 2002116*IndiaColombo (RPS)September 25, 2002153BangladeshPotchefstroomOctober 3, 2002AB de VilliersSouth Africa114*IndiaGwaliorFebruary 24, 2010102*IndiaAhmedabadFebruary 27, 2010102West IndiesNorth SoundMay 22, 2010Quinton de KockSouth Africa135IndiaJohannesburgDecember 5, 2013106IndiaDurbanDecember 8, 2013101IndiaCenturionDecember 11, 2013Ross TaylorNew Zealand112*IndiaHamiltonJanuary 28, 2014102IndiaWellingtonJanuary 31, 2014105*PakistanDubai (DICS)December 8, 2014Kumar SangakkaraSri Lanka105*BangladeshMelbourneFebruary 26, 2015117*EnglandWellingtonMarch 1, 2015104AustraliaSydneyMarch 8, 2015124ScotlandHobartMarch 11, 2015Babar AzamPakistan120West IndiesSharjahSeptember 30, 2016123West IndiesSharjahOctober 2, 2016117West IndiesAbu DhabiOctober 5, 2016Jonny BairstowEngland138New ZealandDunedinMarch 7, 2018104New ZealandChristchurchMarch 10, 2018105ScotlandEdinburghJune 10, 2018Virat KohliIndia140West IndiesGuwahatiOctober 21, 2018157*West IndiesVisakhapatnamOctober 24, 2018107West IndiesPuneOctober 27, 2018Rohit SharmaIndia102EnglandBirminghamJune 30, 2019104BangladeshBirminghamJuly 2, 2019103Sri LankaLeedsJuly 6, 2019Babar AzamPakistan114AustraliaLahoreMarch 31, 2022105*AustraliaLahoreApril 2, 2022103West IndiesMultanJune 8, 2022Fakhar ZamanPakistan101New ZealandKarachiJanuary 13, 2023117New ZealandRawalpindiApril 27, 2023180*New ZealandRawalpindiApril 29, 2023
The overall record of scoring the most back-to-back ODI centuries is in the name of Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara. The legendary Sri Lankan batter scored four back-to-back centuries for the Asian giants in the 2015 ODI World Cup.
In addition to that, Kohli will also have a chance to break the record of most 50+ scores in ODIs against South Africa. As of now, Kohli has hammered 15 50+ (7 centuries, 8 fifties) scores against the South African team in ODIs. Australia’s Ricky Ponting and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara also have 15 50+ scores in ODIs against the rainbow nation.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. Location :
Visakhapatnam, India, India
First Published:
December 06, 2025, 07:47 IST
News cricket Virat Kohli Needs Century In 3rd IND-SA ODI To Equal Babar Azam’s Record Of…Disclaimer: Comments reflect users’ views, not News18’s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Read More
