This was Kohli's second ODI ton in South Africa © Getty Images
This was Kohli’s second ODI ton in South Africa © Getty Images

Superlatives are at loss when it comes to describing Virat Kohli’s recent ODI form. After scoring a century in the first ODI at Durban and remaining unbeaten in the second ODI at Centurion, Kohli recorded his second hundred of the series at Cape Town. It was also his 34th overall. He is also the first Indian batsmen to score more than 100 runs without boundaries running during his knock at Cape Town. His 160* in the third ODI is also highest for an Indian batsman on South African soil, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s score of 152 in the 2003 World Cup against Namibia.

Highest scores by Indians in South Africa
Score Batsman Against Venue Season
160* Virat Kohli South Africa Cape Town 2017-18
152 Sachin Tendulkar Namibia Pietermaritzburg 2002-03
146 Sachin Tendulkar Kenya Paarl 2001-02
127 Sourav Ganguly South Africa Johannesburg 2001-02
114 WV Raman South Africa Centurion 1992-93

This was also the second highest score by a captain in South Africa, only behind Ricky Ponting’s 164 in the record-breaking ODI between Australia and South Africa in 2005-06.

Highest scores by Indians in South Africa
Score Batsman Against Venue Season
160* Virat Kohli South Africa Cape Town 2017-18
152 Sachin Tendulkar Namibia Pietermaritzburg 2002-03
146 Sachin Tendulkar Kenya Paarl 2001-02
127 Sourav Ganguly South Africa Johannesburg 2001-02
114 WV Raman South Africa Centurion 1992-93

This was Kohli’s 12th ODI hundred as captain. He is now only behind Ponting (22) and AB de Villiers (13).

Most hundreds as captain
100s Batsman Team
22 Ricky Ponting Australia
13 AB de Villiers South Africa
12 Virat Kohli India
11 Sourav Ganguly India
10 Sanath Jayasuriya Sri Lanka

Where will he stop? Will he go past Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 49? One can only speculate.