Watch: Virat Kohli registers 72nd century, surpasses Ricky Ponting in record list
Virat Kohli scored an ODI hundred after 40 months
India vs Bangladesh: Virat Kohli on Saturday registered his career's 72nd international hundred and surpassed Australia legend Ricky Ponting in the list of most centuries across formats.
Kohli is now only behind India's great Sachin Tendulkar in the list of most international centuries. Tendulkar finished his decorated career with 100 centuries (51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs).
The former Indian skipper achieved the milestone during the third One-Day International (ODI) between Bangladesh and India on Saturday in Chattogram. The 91-ball 113 also ended Kohli's ODI century drought, with his previous hundred coming in 2019 against West Indies in Port of Spain.
Kohli was stuck at 70 international centuries for over three overs before ending his wait for a 71st ton that came in the Asia Cup earlier this year. It also saw Kohli record his maiden T20I century.
In the list of most centuries in all formats, after Tendulkar (100) and Kohli (72) come the likes of Ponting (70), Kumar Sangakkara (63), Jacque Kallis (62), Hashim Amla (55), and Mahela Jayawardene (54) in the following spots.
On Saturday, India were asked to bat after hosts captain Liton Das won the toss. Shikhar Dhawan fell early in the innings for an eight-ball three. Kohli came out and joined Ishan Kishan in the middle in the fifth over. The two batters not only brought back India's innings on track but also charged against every single Bangladesh bowlers. Especially Kishan, who went on to become only the fourth Indian batsman to score an ODI double.
Kishan scored a 131-ball 210, while he put up an incredible 290 runs for the second wicket with Kohli. The 24-year-old batter, who came in as a replacement for injured Rohit Sharma, also broke Chris Gayle's record for the fastest double century in the 50-over format. While Gayle took 138 deliveries to reach 200 against Zimbabwe during the 2015 World Cup, Kishan reached the landmark in just 126 balls on Saturday.
It is understood that whe Kishan was told that he would be opening India's innings in the third ODI, the Mumbai Indians (MI) batter reached the ground an hour early than the rest of the visiting side and began to practice. His hard work certainly paid off as he struck 24 fours and 10 sixes as he became the first Indian batsman to score an ODI double hundred away from home.