Virat Kohli Scores 34th ODI Ton, Breaks Sourav Ganguly’s Record of Most ODI Centuries as India Captain

Virat Kohli went past Sourav Ganguly’s record of most centuries as Indian captain. Kohli now has 12 centuries as ODI captain against his name.

New Delhi: Indian captain Virat Kohli smashed his career’s 34th One-Day International (ODI) century during the third ODI against South Africa at Cape Town. Kohli has been in great form and after scoring 112 in the first ODI, he managed to notch unbeaten 46 in the second ODI. The Indian skipper looked at his usual best as he scored unbeaten 160 off 159 balls to power his side to 303 for 6 in allotted 50 overs. With it, the right-hander went past Sourav Ganguly’s record of most centuries as Indian captain. Kohli now has 12 centuries as ODI captain against his name.

Kohli was given out leg before when batting on nought, but the right-hander opted for DRS (Decision Review System) and replays showed he had edged it before the ball hit the pad. The decision, thus, was overturned and Kohli then never looked back. 

The Indian captain smashed 12 fours and two sixes during his stay at the crease and added many feathers to his cap. He broke Sachin Tendulkar’s 152 against Namibia at Pietermaritzburg in 2003 to register the highest score by an Indian player in South Africa in ODIs.

Most centuries by Indian captains in ODIs

Player	Span	Matches	Inns	NO	100	50	0
V Kohli	2013-2018	46	43	11	12	10	2
SC Ganguly	1999-2005	146	142	11	11	30	9
MS Dhoni	2007-2016	199	171	48	6	47	3
SR Tendulkar	1996-2000	73	70	5	6	12	4
M Azharuddin	1990-1999	174	162	29	4	37	6

Highest score by captains in ODIs in South Africa

Player	Runs	Mins	BF	4s	6s	SR	Inns	Opponents	Ground	Date
RT Ponting (AUS)	164	154	105	13	9	156.19	1	v SA	Jo’burg	12 Mar 2006
V Kohli (INDIA)	160*	220	159	12	2	100.62	1	v SA	Cape Town	7 Feb 2018
AB de Villiers (SA)	149	59	44	9	16	338.63	1	v WI	Jo’burg	18 Jan 2015
GC Smith (SA)	141	216	134	16	0	105.22	2	v ENG	Centurion	27 Sep 2009
RT Ponting (AUS)	140*	138	121	4	8	115.70	1	v IND	Jo’burg	23 Mar 2003

Most centuries by captains in ODIs

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	NO	100	50	0
RT Ponting (AUS/ICC)	2002-2012	230	220	22	22	51	9
AB de Villiers (SA)	2012-2017	103	98	23	13	27	2
V Kohli (INDIA)	2013-2018	46	43	11	12	10	2
SC Ganguly (Asia/INDIA)	1999-2005	147	143	11	11	30	9
ST Jayasuriya (SL)	1998-2003	118	118	5	10	25	8

Apart from Kohli, it was left-handed opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan who impressed with the bat. Dhawan scored 76 off 63 balls before being dismissed in the 24th over.

After Rohit Sharma was dismissed for the duck in the first over, Kohli and Dhawan added a 140-run stand for the second wicket to put India on the track. After the huge partnership, India kept losing wickets at regular intervals, but Kohli kept scoring from one end and made sure his side goes past the 300-run mark.