Kohli’s 31st ODI ton puts him behind Tendulkar

Virat Kohli surpassed the legendary Ricky Pointing to become the second highest century-maker in ODIs during the opening match against New Zealand in Mumbai on Sunday, where he scored 121. Kohli (121), who had a quiet series against Australia by his lofty standards, got to a double milestone today by scoring a hundred on his 200th ODI, a feat only achieved by Ab de Villiers of South Africa. Kohli is now only behind Sachin Tendulkar, who amassed 49 ODI hundreds besides a staggering 51 centuries in Tests. The Indian captain has 17 hundreds to his name in the five-day format. It was not among Kohli’s most fluent knocks as the Wankhede pitch was on the slower side and the sapping humidity made batting tricky. By reaching the three-figure mark, he also became only the third Indian to score an ODI hundred at Wankhede after Tendulkar (1996 against South Africa) and Mohammad Azharuddin (1987 against Sri Lanka).