Virat Kohli has long been celebrated not just for the weight of his runs but for the emotion, intensity and dedication he brings to the crease. His centuries often feel like master classes in control and determination and his presence tends to lift the entire team. Yet, cricket’s unpredictability means that even his finest efforts sometimes go unrewarded, setting the stage for India’s frustrating night in Raipur.
In the second ODI against South Africa on December 3, Virat Kohli crafted a fluent 102 off 93 balls, looking every bit the anchor India needed. But despite his commanding knock, team India fell to a disappointing four-wicket defeat in Raipur, marking a rare setback; this was the first time in 2462 days that India lost an international match in which Virat Kohli scored a century.
The last such incident took place on March 8, 2019, in Ranchi against Australia, a match remembered not only for Virat Kohli’s 123 off 95 balls but also for being MS Dhoni’s final international appearance on the home soil. India managed only 281 in response to Australia’s 315 that day, echoing the pattern seen in Raipur.
Virat Kohli’s latest century was his 84th in international cricket, yet India have now lost 14 matches in which he reached three figures. Out of his 53 ODI hundreds, eight have come in defeats, while seven of his Test centuries have also ended in losses. One of the most memorable among them was the 2014 Adelaide Test where Virat Kohli scored centuries in both innings but India still went down to Australia, a match special nonetheless because it marked his debut as India’s Test captain.
Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 100 international centuries between 1989 and 2013, also experienced the same harsh reality of team sport. Twenty-five of his hundreds came in matches India ultimately lost, a reminder that even the greatest individual brilliance sometimes cannot alter the final outcome.
This was really disappointing for Indian fans.
