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It's been over 15 years since Virat Kohli made his debut for India in an ODI against Sri Lanka. His first taste of international cricket turned into more regular opportunities two years later and since then, he hasn’t looked back. As he completes his 16th year in international cricket, we take a look at the progress of his century ticker, charting each of his 80 international hundreds over the years.

2008 – 2010 

Kohli made zero centuries across formats in international cricket in his debut year. He played five matches and recorded his highest score of 54. But the century never happened until 2009. After two half-centuries in the year, Kohli ended 2009 with his maiden century in international cricket – a 107 against Sri Lanka in Kolkata. He followed that up with three tons in 2010, including one in January against Bangladesh in an ODI and two successive ones late in the year against Australia and New Zealand, again in ODIs.

2011 – 2013 

In the World Cup year, Kohli made a 100* against Bangladesh at Dhaka and after the World Cup, recorded his maiden ton outside the sub-continent in Cardiff against England. He followed that up with another ton against the same opposition back home in Delhi and finished off with a 117 against West Indies in Vizag. Four tons, all in ODIs, were recorded in 2011.

2012 was perhaps the year that turned Kohli into the beast he is now. He recorded eight centuries in the year including his maiden Test ton at Adelaide against Australia. He made two more Test tons in the year – both at home, against New Zealand and England respectively. In ODIs, he recorded his highest score, a mammoth 183 versus Pakistan in Dhaka. He also recorded three ODI tons against Sri Lanka in the same year.

Six centuries were recorded in 2013 including ODI tons in Zimbabwe and West Indies and a Test ton against South Africa in Johannesburg. He also made a Test century against Australia at Chennai.

Read: Kohli becomes India’s second highest-run-getter in ODIs

2014 - 2016 

Kohli made 19 centuries in the period between 2014 and 2016 and became recognized as the world’s premier batsman across formats. He began the year 2014 with an ODI ton against New Zealand at Napier. A Test ton at Wellington followed but the highlight of the year was his exceptional Test series in Australia where he made three tons – 115 and 141 at Adelaide and 169 at Melbourne.

He continued the trend in 2015 and made a fourth ton in the Australian series at Sydney. A World Cup century against Pakistan followed. A Test hundred at Galle against Sri Lanka and an ODI century against the Proteas at home completed a fabulous 2015 for him.

Centuries followed in 2016 too as he recorded seven of them across formats including a maiden double century against West Indies. Two more double tons followed in the year – against New Zealand and England.

Read: Virat Kohli surpasses Miandad’s 26-year-old record

2017 - 2018 

The bumper years in international cricket for Virat Kohli, 2017 and 2018 saw him record an exceptional 22 international hundreds including 10 in Test cricket alone. In 2017, a double ton against Bangladesh and back-to-back double centuries against Sri Lanka at home were also recorded. He made ODI tons against England and West Indies too in 2017 but Sri Lanka was his primary target. Two ODI tons, two Test hundreds and two Test double hundreds were recorded in 2017 alone against Sri Lanka.

In 2018, he made three ODI hundreds in a six-match series in South Africa post a valiant Test ton in the same tour at Centurion. Two Test tons were recorded in England as well before a hat-trick of ODI tons against the Windies followed at home. In Australia, he recorded a Test ton at Perth.

2019 

Kohli started the year with a match-winning ODI hundred against the Aussies at Adelaide before getting two more at home against the same opposition.

In the ICC Cricket World Cup, Kohli made five successive half-centuries but failed to convert any of those to hundreds. However, he rocked back to form in the tour of West Indies with back-to-back centuries in the ODI series. 

The skipper finished the year with a double-ton against South Africa and a century in the pink-ball Test against Bangladesh.

2021

With cricket slowly moving back to normalcy in 2021 with teams playing and traveling in bio-secure bubbles due to Covid-19, Kohli failed to score any hundred for India in 2021.

2022

Virat Kohli ended his drought of not scoring a hundred in international cricket for 1020 days as he smashed an unbeaten 122 runs off 61 balls against Afghanistan during an Asia Cup T20I encounter at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. His scintillating hundred powered India to a 101-run win in a Super 4 stage clash. He scored his second ton of the year against Bangladesh in December.

2023

Virat Kohli started the new year with his 45th ODI ton, his 73rd international hundred overall. Kohli smashed 113 runs off 87 balls against Sri Lanka at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

He followed up with another ton in the third match of the Sri Lanka ODI series at the Greenfield International Stadium. The knock took him only three centuries away from Sachin Tendulkar's record of most ODI centuries.

Kohli also ended a long wait for a Test ton after scoring 186 against Australia in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar trophy in March. He followed it up with another Test hundred in July against West Indies in the second match of a two-match series against the Windies. He made 121 before being dismissed. 

The Delhi-born cricketer later slammed his 77th hundred against arch-rivals Pakistan during a Super Four clash in Asia Cup 2023 at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. He scored an unbeaten 122 off just 94 balls, laced with nine fours and three sixes.

A month later, he was at it again as Kohli smashed his 78th hundred at the expense of Bangladesh in the 2023 ODI World Cup. His 97-ball 103 helped India register a comfortable seven-wicket win.

His second hundred of the 2023 World Cup and 79th in international cricket came against South Africa in match 37 of the tournament at Eden Gardens. He smashed an unbeaten 101 to help India set the Proteas a target of 327 to chase. In reply, South Africa only managed 83 as India won the game by 243 runs.

Meanwhile, Kohli's third ODI ton in World Cup 2023 and 80th overall in his career came against New Zealand in the first semi-final of the 50-over showpiece event. His hundred helped India set a target of 398 for New Zealand to chase.  

Virat Kohli's hundreds year-by-year: Know them all

Year

100s

Matches

2008

0

5

2009

1

10

2010

3

27

2011

4

43

2012

8

40

2013

6

43

2014

8

38

2015

4

31

2016

7

37

2017

11

46

2018

11

37

2019

7

44

2020

0

22

2021

0

24

2022

2

37

2023

8

33

Featured photo: AFP / Aamir Qureshi 

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