Retirement from Test and T20I cricket doesn’t mean that Virat Kohli can’t challenge to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most hundreds in international cricket. At the end of the last decade, Kohli had 70 hundreds. One could’ve assumed that he’d easily go past Tendulkar.
Things haven’t gone as expected. But Kohli still has the chance to break the all-time record. With the 2027 ODI World Cup as his end goal, Kohli still has some time. One would have questioned the chances, but given how well he’s been playing, you can’t rule anything out.
Kohli scores 53rd ODI & 84th overall hundred
After scoring his 52nd ODI hundred in Ranchi, Kohli has backed it up with another sensational hundred in the India vs South Africa 2nd ODI. It’s his 53rd century in the format and 84th overall. Now, Kohli’s just 16 shy of Tendulkar’s all-time record of one hundred hundreds.
Just like in Ranchi, Kohli came into the middle early in Raipur as well. After Rohit Sharma departed for 14 in the 5th over, the star batter had to deal with the new ball and consolidate India’s innings. Although Yashasvi Jaiswal couldn’t go long with him, Ruturaj Gaikwad allowed Kohli to play his natural game.
In the blink of an eye, Kohli had scored 50 from just 47 balls. He had missed or edged just 2 balls during this period. He was in sublime touch. Kohli had a few things going his way with a catch falling in no man’s land. In the 90s, he was extremely jittery, trying to run singles and doubles when they weren’t on.
Finally, in the 38th over, Kohli reached triple figures with a single to long-on. He had a control percentage of 86 at this point. It was also the 11th time Kohli has scored consecutive hundreds in ODIs. For context, AB de Villiers has done so just 6 times in his career, and he’s the second best.
And it isn’t one bit shocking that it’s come against South Africa. Kohli has scored hundreds in his last 3 ODIs against the Proteas. Tons here and before that, he played an unbeaten 101-knock against them at the Eden Gardens in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Most hundreds in international cricket
| Batter | Span | Innings | Runs | Average | 100s |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 1989-2013 | 782 | 34357 | 48.52 | 100 |
| Virat Kohli | 2008-2025 | 621 | 27808 | 52.36 | 84 |
| Ricky Ponting | 1995-2012 | 668 | 27483 | 45.95 | 71 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 2000-2015 | 666 | 28016 | 46.77 | 63 |
| Jacques Kallis | 1995-2014 | 617 | 25534 | 49.10 | 62 |
