There was a dramatic twist in Raipur on Wednesday night (December 3) when Virat Kohli’s brilliant 102 off 93 balls failed to save India from a shocking four-wicket defeat against South Africa in the second ODI of the three-match ODI series.
Fans were left stunned at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur when South Africa chased down the target of 159 and handed India one of the most unexpected defeats in recent years. With the four-wicket win, South Africa leveled the ongoing ODI series 1–1.
After Virat Kohli’s century, India faced a rare defeat in Raipur.
The loss brought home a rare and painful statistic. This was India’s first defeat in international cricket in 2462 days when Kohli scored a century. The last time this happened was on March 8, 2019 against Australia in Ranchi.
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Incidentally, that match was MS Dhoni’s last international appearance on Indian soil. In that game, Kohli had scored 123 runs in 95 balls, but India still failed to chase the target of 315 runs and finished with only 281 runs against Australia.
Kohli’s Raipur innings was his 84th international century and India were in a good position to win the match, but this time the script was flipped.
Virat Kohli’s 14 centuries ended with defeat
India has now lost 14 matches where Virat Kohli has scored a century. In ODIs alone, India have lost 8 out of 53 matches in which the former Indian captain had reached triple figures. The remaining seven centuries which ended in defeat came in Test cricket.
One of those unforgettable moments came in Adelaide in December 2014, when Kohli scored centuries in both innings of the Test but India still lost. Even though the result was disappointing, that Test match on the Australia tour is special because it was his first match as India’s Test captain.
If we compare this state with Sachin Tendulkar, this great cricketer finished his career with 100 international centuries in 664 matches between 1989 and 2013. Of those, 25 of Tendulkar’s centuries came in matches where India lost in the international arena.
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When India lost despite Virat Kohli’s century
Meanwhile, there were days when Virat Kohli’s brilliance with the bat could not prevent India from defeat. The first example came in 2011, when his innings of 107 in an ODI against England in Cardiff was not enough. A year later in Adelaide, he fought hard, scoring 116 runs in a long Test innings, but Australia won the match.
In 2014, Kohli scored a brilliant 123 in Napier, followed by a memorable Test in Adelaide, where he scored 115 and 141 in the same match, yet India lost the match. The same pattern continued in 2015 with a score of 103 in Galle. In 2016, he reached 117 in Melbourne and 106 in Canberra, but India lost both ODIs against Australia.
The right-handed batsman’s 121-run innings against New Zealand in Mumbai in 2017 also led to the defeat in the ODI match. Kohli’s 2018 run was also disappointing for the Indian cricket team.
This run included powerful innings of 153 runs in a Test match against South Africa in Centurion, 149 runs in a Test match against England in Birmingham, 107 runs in an ODI against West Indies in Pune and 123 runs in a Test match against Australia in Perth.
India also lost an ODI match in 2019 when Kohli played an inning of 123 runs against Australia in Ranchi. And now in Raipur, where Kohli’s innings of 102 runs against South Africa went in vain.