India superstar Virat Kohli extended his 50-over international dominance with a record-breaking 52nd ODI century against South Africa in the first match at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi on Sunday.
Walking in at 25 for one after India were put to bat by Aiden Markram’s South Africa, Kohli was quickly sped off the blocks in his first innings at home since February 2025. A classic off-drive against the pacy left-arm seamer Nandre Burger set up his innings after finding a streaky outside-edge to the third-man boundary first ball.
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Kohli then forged a solid partnership with Rohit Sharma, with the pair deflating the South African attack progressively on a belter of a strip and lightning-quick outfields. The 37-year-old Kohli was particularly offensive, smacking five sixes by the time he moved into the 70s.
Despite a few hiccups at the other end, Kohli cantered to his century in only 102 deliveries, bringing down a heap of records. Kohli’s 52nd ODI century, a first in the format since his unbeaten 100 against Pakistan in the 2025 Champions Trophy, also took him past Sachin Tendulkar for most centuries in a single international format, who had struck 51 Test centuries in his career.
Kohli had surpassed Tendulkar’s ODI century tally (49) during India’s 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium.
Kohli’s ton was also his 25th ODI century at home, the first player to reach the landmark in the 50-over format.
The former India captain marked his sixth ODI century against South Africa in 30 innings, surpassing Tendulkar (5 in 57 innings) for the most centuries against the Proteas in the ODI format. Kohli averages nearly 70 against South Africa in 50-over cricket, the highest among the six batters who have aggregated at least 1500 against them.
Earlier in the innings, Kohli also went past Ricky Ponting’s 217 sixes at number three in international cricket across formats. Kohli and Rohit raised a 136-run stand for the wicket. It was their 20th century partnership in ODI cricket, the joint-second most only behind Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly (26).
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