Virat Kohli unlocks new level: Star India batter betters this record in ODIs against SA

Virat Kohli finished as the leading run scorer in the three-match ODI series between India and South Africa. He scored the most runs in the series and also hit the most sixes. Kohli struck 12 sixes, his highest number in any ODI series or tournament.Earlier, his best was nine sixes in the 2022-23 ODI series against Sri Lanka, and he also hit nine sixes in the 2023 ODI World Cup.Kohli ended the series with an unbeaten 65 in the third ODI at Visakhapatnam on Saturday. He made 65 off 45 balls, with six fours and three sixes.After the match, Kohli said he tried to bat freely to enjoy himself, take more risks and push his limits."When I play freely, then I know I can hit sixes. So, I just wanted to have some fun because I was batting well, just take a bit more risk.

Just push my own boundaries and see where we go. There's always levels you can unlock and you just need to take a risk," Virat Kohli said.Kohli finished the series with 302 runs at an average of 151.00 and a strike rate of over 117. He scored two centuries and one fifty.In 13 ODIs this year, Kohli has made 651 runs in 13 innings at an average of 65.10, with three centuries and four fifties. His highest score this year is 135.Against South Africa, Kohli has scored 1,806 runs in 34 ODIs and 32 innings.

He averages 72.24 with a strike rate of almost 90, and has seven centuries and nine fifties, with a best of 160*.In the third ODI, India bowled first after winning the toss. South Africa lost Ryan Rickelton for a duck, but Quinton de Kock (106 off 89 balls) and captain Temba Bavuma (48 off 67 balls) added 113 runs. De Kock also put on 54 with Matthew Breetzke (24 off 23 balls). South Africa moved to 199/5 as Prasidh Krishna took 4/66.Dewald Brevis (29 off 29 balls) and Marco Jansen (17 off 15 balls) tried to lift the innings, but Kuldeep Yadav took 4/41 to bowl South Africa out for 270 in 47.5 overs after they had been 234/5.India chased the target in 39.5 overs. Rohit Sharma scored 75 off 73 balls in a 155-run stand with Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made his first ODI hundred. Jaiswal stayed unbeaten on 116 off 121 balls and then added another century partnership with Kohli, who finished with 65*, to complete the series win.