In a scintillating display of form and mastery, Virat Kohli delivered his second consecutive century of the series against South Africa, smashing a composed 102 from 93 balls in the 2nd ODI at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium. This knock marked his 53rd century in One Day Internationals and the 84th overall in his storied international career.
Opening the innings after early setbacks — with Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal departing cheaply — Kohli steadied the ship. He reached his hundred off 90 balls with a delicate single off Marco Jansen towards long-on, erupting in a trademark celebration as the Raipur crowd erupted in cheers.
Kohli’s century was backed by a powerful partnership with Ruturaj Gaikwad, who notched his maiden ODI ton — 105 off 83 balls. Together they forged a record 195-run third-wicket stand, the highest by any Indian pair against South Africa in ODIs.
With boundaries and elegant strokeplay, Kohli dispatched the South African bowling attack mercilessly — his innings included seven fours and two sixes. His fluent knock laid the foundation for India to post a commanding total of 358/5 in 50 overs.
This back-to-back century feat is the 11th such instance in Kohli’s ODI career — more than any other batsman in the history of the format — reinforcing his status as one of the greatest ODI batsmen of all time.
As India head into the second innings, Kohli’s imperious form and India’s daunting total put them firmly in control of the match — and arguably the series.
