Fans' madness was all around at the JSCA stadium Virat Kohli cracked a spectacular century in the first ODI between India and South Africa. Right after Kohli reached his century, a fan breached security, ran the length of the ground, and bowed down at the batting maestro’s feet. The incident occurred while Kohli was in the middle of his signature celebration, kissing his ring pendant, before security officials chased the intruder all the way to the pitch and escorted him away.
Fan invades pitch to touch Virat Kohli's pitch
This century, Kohli’s 52nd in the ODI format, stands out as one of his finest, not only due to the context of his fight for a spot in the 2027 World Cup squad but also for the sheer quality of batting he exhibited. Initially, Kohli appeared slightly rusty, sparking concern that playing only one format was having a negative impact. However, it took him just a couple of overs to adapt to the pace and bounce of the pitch. He quickly began to dominate the bowlers, even striking an uncharacteristically high number of sixes as he rushed to his half-century off just 48 balls with a maximum off Corbin Bosch.
Virat Kohli lights up JSCA stadium with superlative century
Despite wickets falling rapidly at the other end, including Rohit Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Washington Sundar, Kohli maintained his composure. The continuous arrival of new batters meant Kohli spent much of the next phase at the non-striker's end. As he neared his nineties, he slowed his scoring rate, perhaps understandably desperate to reach the three-figure mark. Once he finally achieved the milestone, dabbing a ball for a boundary to deep third, Kohli exploded into a devastating late assault, hitting six fours and two sixes before he was eventually dismissed for a magnificent 135 runs off 120 balls.
Kohli's last ODI century came against Pakistan during the 2025 Champions Trophy. It was batting machine's 83rd international century and he is fast approaching Sachin Tendulkar's 100 century-mark.
Kohli ended up scoring a lightning 120-ball 135 riding on 11 fours and 7 sixes before returning to the hut. Besides Kohli, Rohit Sharma (57 off 51) and KL Rahul (60 off 56) too dazzled with the bat to take India to a massive total of 349/8.
India's Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
South Africa's Playing XI:
Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram(c), Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, Ottneil Baartman