From November 23, 2019, to September 7, 2022, a specific period in Virat Kohli’s career, he has faced a considerable amount of criticism and scrutiny primarily for one reason – his century drought in One Day Internationals (ODIs).
In the international cricket arena, Kohli achieved his 70th century on November 22, 2019, against Bangladesh. Since that day, he had gone 1,120 days without reaching the three-figure mark. This period was marked by discussions about Kohli’s form and his struggle to score centuries.
On September 8, 2022, during the T20 World Cup match against Afghanistan, Kohli ended this century drought by scoring his 71st century in his international career. After that, he has added several more centuries to his name, including one against Bangladesh in the recent T20 World Cup.
Kohli’s batting prowess has always been associated with breaking records. In this World Cup, he also achieved the milestone of being the fastest to reach 26,000 runs in international cricket. Additionally, he has set a record for the most centuries by a player in World Cup history.
Virat Kohli’s name is synonymous with records in batting. In this World Cup, he surpassed the 50 centuries mark in ODIs, which is a feat that no one will find hard to believe. He is now the highest run-scorer in ODIs and is in a league of his own in terms of century-hitting ability.
One of the most significant records Kohli has is his ability to convert centuries into team victories. Out of his 48 ODI centuries, India has won in 40 matches, giving him a win percentage of 83.33% when he scores a century. This demonstrates his remarkable influence on the team’s success.
In this list, Kohli has moved ahead of Ricky Ponting, who has 41 centuries, and is now second only to Sachin Tendulkar, who has 49 centuries. Kohli’s preference for the number 41 in ODIs indicates his batting position – he has scored 41 centuries from the number 3 position in the batting order. Kohli has achieved this feat in 27 matches where India has emerged victorious. In terms of century conversions into team wins, no one comes close to him.
Kohli’s 48 ODI centuries, with 41 of them resulting in Indian victories, indicate that he can potentially surpass Ponting and even Tendulkar in the future. His affinity for the number 41 symbolizes his batting dominance, and he has now moved ahead of Ponting in this particular record.
