Virat Kohli scored his 55th ODI century in the first ODI against West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram. His unbeaten 139 not only guided India to a comprehensive victory but also saw him rewrite several records, equalizing the legendary Sunil Gavaskar in an elite list. Gavaskar, who earned a reputation for his prolific run-scoring against West Indies, now has company at the top. in multiple milestones. Kohli equalled Gavaskar’s record for the most centuries against the Caribbean side. Gavaskar scored 13 centuries in 38 matches against West Indies, while Kohli matched the feat with his 13th hundred against the opposition in 74 matches.
Apart from Gavaskar, Kohli also surpassed the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in many records. The RCB star became the fastest batter in ODI history to reach 15,000 runs, eclipsing Tendulkar’s previous record. He also became the highest run-scorer in ODIs on Indian soil, taking his tally to 7,006 runs and going past Tendulkar’s record of 6,976 ODI runs in India.
Also with this heroics in Thiruvananthapuram, Virat Kohli had another record of scoring most runs (338) without getting out at one particular venue in ODI cricket.
Kohli is now tied with Tendulkar on 59 List A centuries and is just one hundred away from surpassing the batting great for the most international centuries at home.
Before the match, Kohli had scored 14,941 runs at an average of 58.59, with 54 centuries and 79 fifties to his name. His highest ODI score remains 183.
With the landmark, Kohli moved further clear in second place on the all-time ODI run-scoring list, behind Tendulkar, who finished his illustrious ODI career with 18,426 runs.
Kohli has also enjoyed a prolific record against West Indies, having scored more than 2,200 runs against them in ODIs before the ongoing series.
The milestone came during India’s chase of 296 runs, with Kohli joining Shubman Gill at the crease after Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 32.
Kohli remained unbeaten on 139 off only 88 balls (10 fours, 9 sixes)as India scored 300/2 in 41.4 overs in reply to the West Indies’ 295/7.
India captain Gill also scored a century before being dismissed for 110.
India took 1-0 lead in the three-match series.