Virat Kohli Surpasses Ponting To Become Second Highest Century Maker, Behind Sachin Tendulkar 

Mumbai: Virat Kohli on Sunday surpassed the legendary Ricky Pointing to become the second highest century maker in ODIs en route his 31st hundred during the opening match against New Zealand.

Kohli (121), who had a quiet series against Australia by his lofty standards, got to a double milestone today by scoring a hundred on his 200th ODI, a feat only achieved by Ab de Villiers of South Africa. Kohli is now only behind Sachin Tendulkar, who amassed 49 ODI hundreds besides a staggering 51 centuries in Tests.

Kohli (121), who is playing his 200th ODI, brought up his 31st ton to guide his side to a challenging total. Middle-order batsman Dinesh Karthik (37), making his comeback into the side, also played an important knock.

The Indian captain has 17 hundreds to his name in the five-day format. It was not among Kohli's most fluent knocks as Wankhede pitch was on the slower side and the sapping humidity made batting tricky. By reaching the three-figure mark, he also became only the third Indian to score an ODI hundred at Wankhede after Tendulkar (1996 against South Africa) and Mohammad Azharuddin (1987 against Sri Lanka). (PTI)