Virat Kohli
Kohli hit his 33rd ODI century in Durban on Thursday.Reuters

Captain Virat Kohli broke an array of records with his match-winning century in the first ODI of the ongoing six-match series against South Africa in Durban on Thursday, February 1.

Kohli hit his 33rd ODI ton and stitched a 189-run stand with Ajinkya Rahane as the two helped India gun down a total of 270 with 27 balls to spare. MS Dhoni, as usual, hit the winning runs in style with a boundary off his hips, thereby ending South Africa's 17-match (ODIs) winning streak at home.

Also read: Kohli 'very happy' for Rahane after match-winning stand

Kohli had stressed on the need to carry forward the momentum gained after winning the Johannesburg Test into the ODI series and the Indian team did exactly that on Thursday.

In reply to South Africa's total of 269, India lost Rohit Sharma early. Shikhar Dhawan walked back after a mix-up, which involved Kohli as well. However, the skipper and Rahane not only steadied the ship but also took the attack to the South Africans and never let the opposition bowlers settle down.

Eventually, it was Kohli's first century in South Africa and the captain was overjoyed with his as well as the team's effort. "I had never scored an ODI hundred in South Africa. Thus, it is special to score a ton here," the skipper and the Player of the Match said on Thursday.

Kohli was lauded by former cricketers and experts on Twitter after what was yet another chasing masterclass from the Indian captain on Thursday.

IBTimes India has compiled a list of records Kohli set and broke in Durban. Also check out reactions to Kohli's match-winning ton below.

  1. Kohli scored his first ODI century in South Africa on Thursday. The Delhi batsman has now hit a ton in every country he has played in.
  2. Kohli has also equalled Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya's record of scoring at least an ODI ton in nine Test playing nations. Notably, he has not played in Pakistan yet. 
  3. He has equalled Sourav Ganguly's record of most number of ODI centuries as Indian captain. While Kohli has got there in just 41 innings, the legendary left-handed batsman needed 142 innings.
  4. Kohli has the most number of hundreds during chases in ODIs (20). He has scored 18 in successful chases. Sachin Tendulkar is second on the list with 17 tons.
  5. Kohli and Ricky Ponting are now the only touring captains to have scored hundreds in both Tests and ODIs in South Africa on the same tour. The Australia great had achieved the feat in 2006.
  6. Kohli has also equalled Ponting's record (34) of most ODI wins after first 44 matches as captain, according to sports statistician Mohandas Menon.

 Reactions to Kohli's Durban ton

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