Kohli Hit a Record 10 Centuries in a Single Year

Virat Kohli smashed his 19th hundred in Tests as India gained the momentum against Sri Lanka. The 2 nations were squaring off at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on Sunday. Kohli needed just 130 balls to reach his fourth Test hundred in 2017. He struck 10 boundaries in his innings en route to his century and took the fight to the opposition. With this Kohli hit a record 10 centuries in a single year to surpass the likes of Ponting.

Virat’s performance meant that he scored his 51st career hundred in international cricket. He equaled Sunil Gavaskar’s record for most hundreds (11) as an India Test captain in the last Test in Kolkata. He has now scored four centuries in Tests in 2017. Kohli hit 10 international hundreds (six in ODIs and four in Tests) in the calendar year of 2017, .

The previous record holders were Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith with nine hundreds. The former Australian captain managed the feat on two occasions in consecutive years. Namely in 2005 and 2006. Graeme Smith did it in 2005. The Indian captain on the other hand has scored more hundreds than fifties as captain. Kohli hit 22 hundreds as compared to his 16 fifties.

The Indian captain has been on a rampage, decimating opposing bowling attacks like it was nothing. Kohli racked up double centuries in four successive Test series, starting with a 200 against West Indies. He followed it up with 211 against New Zealand back in October 2016. Virat continued his form against England with a 235 and then took the Bangladesh bowlers to the cleaners for a relatively quick-fire 204.

He struggled against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, finishing the series with only 46 runs from three matches. He bounced back again with an unbeaten 103 against Sri Lanka in their backyard. In the Sri Lanka tour of India, the hosts struggled in Kolkata. Kohli was dismissed for his fifth duck in Test cricket in the first innings. But he got his revenge in the second with a 104 not out.

The Indian captain is the leading run-getter in the ODIs this year and has 6 hundreds in the 50-overs format. The 29-year-old also has 9 fifties across formats. In ODIs, Kohli reached his 32nd hundred in the 50-overs format in the first match against New Zealand. He surpassed Ricky Ponting in the list of most hundreds in the process. He is only behind the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar who has 49.

Kohli also equalled Rahul Dravid’s record for most 50-plus scores in a calendar year in the ongoing second Test. Dravid had hammered 19 half-centuries in 2006. ‘The Wall’ accumulated 2014 runs from 39 matches (12 Tests and 27 ODIs) across all formats 11 years ago. He hit 108 fifties in ODIs, 3 tons and 7 half-centuries in Tests that year.