Virat Kohli surpasses Ricky Ponting with 31st ODI hundred

Mumbai: Playing the captain's knock, Virat Kohli notched up his 31^st One-Day International (ODI) hundred against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday.

He completed his ton off 111 deliveries with the help of 7 fours and a six in the first of the three-match ODI series. With this century, he surpassed Aussie great Ricky Ponting, who had scored 30 centuries in 375 ODIs. He is now only behind Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, who has 49 ODI tons to his credit.

Also Read: Ind vs NZ 1st ODI | India wins toss, New Zealand to bowl

He has consolidated India's inning with his hundred while batsmen at the other end have struggled to survive. After Virat Kohli, who is still living dangerously at the crease, Dinesh Karthik was the highest scorer with 37 runs off 47 balls with 4 fours.

He had last scored a hundred against in the fifth ODI against Sri Lanka where he scored 110 runs off 116 deliveries with 9 fours. With the help of his hundred, India had successfully chased down a small target of 239 runs in 46.3 overs with 6 wickets in hand.

Also Read: SL vs IND 5th ODI: Virat Kohli equals Ricky Ponting with 30th ton

The Indian ‘run-machine’ has bettered his record of most number of hundreds in chases. He had surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most hundreds in chases. While the Little Master took 232 innings to score 17 hundreds, he had taken just 102 innings to score 18 ODI tons while batting second. Now the tally has reached to 19.

Before today’s match, Virat Kohli had played 199 ODIs in which he has completed 8,767 runs at a phenomenal average of 55.13. He also has 45 half-centuries and his career strike rate is 91.47.

Currently, India is looking in a little bit of trouble at 251/6 at the end of 47 overs with Kohli (111 off 117 balls) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (6 off 4) are standing at the crease.