New Delhi: Virat Kolhi on Wednesday slammed his 34th ODI ton against South Africa. His sparkling unbeaten 160 off 159 balls guided India to a comfortable 124-run win in the third ODI of the series. With the latest marathon knock, Virat also broke the record of the longest ever overseas inning for India outside opening position. The record was previously held by former captain Mohammad Azharuddin (154 balls) vs England, The Oval, 1986.
Mesmerized by Virat’s fluent batting display in the third ODI former Australian captain Michael Clarke took on the social media and hailed Virat as best ODI player of all time.
The current form has helped the run machine to gathered praise from all quarters. Former cricketers and cricket pundits who were once, against the player for his attitude towards the game are all praising the Indian skipper for his prolific run with the bat. The consistency with which Virat has played, he is now being termed as one of the modern greats.
Sourav Ganguly, Ian Bell and Azhar Mehmood Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar also congratulated Virat for his unbeaten ton at Centurion.
29-year-old Virat has been in impeccable form in past one year. He has been clobbering bowlers from all countries in home conditions and away. Especially in the limited overs format, Virat has been unstoppable. Virat was also recently named ICC Cricketer of the Year and also Bagged ODI Cricketer Award.
Virat till now has 9348 runs in 205 ODIs at an average of 57.34 which includes 34 centuries. With age and fitness on his side Virat is the being considered the strongest contender to break the record of most tons (held by fellow Indian Sachin Tendulkar with 49 tons) in the limited overs format.