Virat surpasses Tendulkar for most centuries in a single format, extends golden run in Ranchi

Legendary Indian batter Virat Kohli had another outing to remember at Ranchi, enthralling fans with his 52nd ODI century and smashing the record of most centuries by a batter in a single format of the game.

The ODI series opener against South Africa was nothing short of a carnival for the fans as India batted. Virat, along with Rohit Sharma put a 136-run stand for the second wicket. Also, he scored 135 in 120 balls, with 11 fours and seven sixes, scoring his runs at a stunning strike rate of 112.50.

Now, he has overcome compatriot and iconic batter Sachin Tendulkar’s mark of 51 Test centuries to become the batter with the most centuries in a single format of the sport. This is also his 83rd century in international cricket.

He also surpassed Sachin in two more aspects, registering his sixth ODI century against South Africa, outdoing Sachin and David Warner. Also, he outdid the Master Blaster to register the most fifty-plus scores at home by a batter in ODIs, going past Sachin’s mark of 58 and getting his 59th fifty-plus score in India.

With this century, Kohli continues his golden run at Ranchi’s JSCA Stadium, with 519 runs in six innings at an average of 173, including three centuries and a fifty, and scoring his runs at a strike rate of 110.19. This year in ODIs, Virat has scored 484 runs in 11 matches and innings at an average of 53.77 at a strike rate of 89.79, with two centuries and three fifties and a best score of 135.