Raipur: India’s star batter Virat Kohli struck his second successive century and 84th hundred overall internationally in the second ODI against South Africa here on Wednesday, reinforcing his status as one of the world’s top players despite playing only one format now.
After South Africa put India in, Kohli blazed away to a 93-ball 102 while sharing a mammoth 195-run stand for the third wicket with Ruturaj Gaikwad (105 off 83 balls), who notched up his maiden hundred in the format.
The 37-year-old Kohli, who has retired form Test and T20Is, came into the match after scoring a 135 off 120 balls in the series opener in Ranchi.
Kohli, who hit seven fours and two sixes during his stay in the middle, looked in excellent touch en route to scoring his 53rd ODI hundred, leaving the spectators at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium ecstatic.
Batting at number three, Kohli walked in early once again and imposed himself on the South African bowlers in the manner only he can, dominating them with his wide range of strokes.
The Star Indian batter on Wednesday moved up to No. 4 in the latest ICC rankings with a match-winning hundred against South Africa in the first ODI at Ranchi boosting his ascend.
Kohli made his 52nd hundred in the 50-over format, a 120-ball 135 that propelled India to a 17-run win over the Proteas on Sunday.
The 37-year-old now has 751 ranking points, and trails former India skipper Rohit Sharma (783), who retained his top spot, New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell (766) and Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran (764).
Kohli overtook India ODI captain Shubman Gill, who moved down to No. 5 after missing the ongoing three-match series against South Africa with a neck injury.
Shreyas Iyer, who is also recovering from an injury that he sustained during India’s recent white ball tour to Australia, stood firm on 9th position.
Meanwhile, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav gained one place to move to sixth after picking up four wickets in the first match against the Proteas.
In the Test batter’s list, India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal continued to station at No. 9, while Gill slid one place down to 12.
Wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant was also on a downward spiral, moving down from 12th to 14th.
In the rankings for Test bowlers, India’s premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah remained on top of the pile with 879 points, well clear of New Zealand pacer Matt Henry (846).
However, modest outings in the two-match series against SA recently affected the rankings of pacer Mohammed Siraj (from 11th to 13th) and Kuldeep (from 13th to 15th).
In the T20I list, Indians dominated the top slot with Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy keeping their numero uno positions.
