Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma Shatter Records on India Return

India opened the ODI series with a tight win in Ranchi, despite losing their 19th consecutive toss in ODIs, a streak that began in the 2023 World Cup final. Asked to bat first, India posted 349/8, driven by a Virat Kohli century and half-centuries from Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.

In the second innings, South Africa slipped to 11/3 as Harshit Rana bowled a fiery new-ball spell. They fell further to 130/5, but Marco Jansen’s counterattacking knock and Matthew Breetzke’s steady fifty kept the chase alive. Their 97-run partnership off 69 balls put India under pressure before Kuldeep Yadav’s double strike halted the momentum. 

Corbin Bosch then carried the chase deep with a superb 67, taking the match to the final overs. South Africa needed 19 off 10, but Arshdeep Singh nailed his yorkers to seal a tense finish with only the last man left. 

The night, however, belonged to India’s senior duo. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma broke several major records during the win. Here’s a look at all of them. 

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Records Broken by Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma in Ranchi

1. Rohit Sharma now has 352 ODI sixes, the most in the format, going past Shahid Afridi’s 351. Chris Gayle is next with 331. No other batter has over 300 sixes.
   
2. For the first time in 5 years, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have hit back-to-back century partnerships in ODIs.
   
3. Ranchi marked their 392nd international match together, the most for any Indian pair, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid (391). Only 5 global pairs have played more matches together.
   
4. Virat Kohli scored his 83rd international hundred and 52nd ODI century, which is also the 7000th individual century in men’s international cricket.
   
5. Kohli smashed 7 sixes, his joint second-highest in an ODI innings.
   
6. With 52 ODI hundreds, Kohli now holds the record for most centuries in a single format.
   
7. Kohli became the only player with six ODI centuries against South Africa, overtaking Sachin Tendulkar and David Warner (5 each).
   
8. Rohit and Kohli now have 20 century partnerships in ODIs, equalling Kumar Sangakkara–Tillakaratne Dilshan and trailing only Tendulkar–Ganguly’s 26.
   
9. Rohit & Kohli’s 136-run stand was their 8th ODI century stand at home and their first since 2020.
   
10. Virat Kohli hit two sixes in the first 10 overs of an ODI innings for only the second time. The last instance was against England in Pune, 2017.