It all began in Kolkata for Virat Kohli. Eden Gardens is where Kohli scored his first ODI century, and it is also where India will face South Africa in the 2023 ODI World Cup on Sunday, which happens to be Kohli's 35th birthday. The India batting lynchpin needs one more century to equal Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI tons, and after coming oh so close to the landmark twice in the last three games, Kohli will hope to be third time lucky. (Match Blog | Scorecard | Preview | Streaming)
Over the years, Kohli has become a limited-overs batting giant, breaking record after record in the 50-over format in particular. Beyond the records, though, it is his ability to single-handedly transform matches that is most cherished. India have lost just seven of the 48 ODIs where Kohli has scored a ton. This shows the impact of his knocks on the outcome of the match.
The effect is even more pronounced when it comes to run-chases, as has been well documented over the years. The 'Chase Master' has scored 27 of his 48 ODI centuries when India has batted second, and averages 65.49 with an aggregate of 7,794 runs in 159 matches. His highest ODI score of 183 also came while chasing against arch-rivals Pakistan in Mirpur, during the 2012 Asia Cup.
Here is the detailed list of each one of the 48 ODI hundreds Kohli has hit so far:
| No. | Runs | Against | Position | Innings | Strike Rate | Venue | Date | Result |
| 1 | 107 | Sri Lanka | 4 | 2 | 93.85 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 24-Dec-09 | Won |
| 2 | 102 no | Bangladesh | 3 | 2 | 107.37 | Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, Dhaka | 11-Jan-10 | Won |
| 3 | 118 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 97.52 | APCA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam | 20-Oct-10 | Won |
| 4 | 105 | New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 100.96 | Nehru Stadium, Guwahati | 28-Nov-10 | Won |
| 5 | 100 no | Bangladesh | 4 | 1 | 120.48 | Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, Dhaka | 19-Feb-11 | Won |
| 6 | 107 | England | 4 | 1 | 115.05 | Sophia Gardens, Cardiff | 16-Sep-11 | Lost (D/L) |
| 7 | 117 no | England | 4 | 2 | 114.28 | Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi | 17-Oct-11 | Won |
| 8 | 117 | West Indies | 4 | 2 | 95.12 | APCA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam | 02-Dec-11 | Won |
| 9 | 133 no | Sri Lanka | 4 | 2 | 154.65 | Bellerive Oval, Hobart | 28-Feb-12 | Won |
| 10 | 108 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 90 | Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, Dhaka | 13-Mar-12 | Won |
| 11 | 183 | Pakistan | 3 | 2 | 123.64 | Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, Dhaka | 18-Mar-12 | Won |
| 12 | 106 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 93.8 | MRIC Stadium, Hambantota | 21-Jul-12 | Won |
| 13 | 128 no | Sri Lanka | 3 | 2 | 107.56 | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | 31-Jul-12 | Won |
| 14 | 102 | West Indies | 3 | 1 | 122.89 | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain | 05-Jul-13 | Won (D/L) |
| 15 | 115 | Zimbabwe | 3 | 2 | 106.48 | Harare Sports Club, Harare | 24-Jul-13 | Won |
| 16 | 100 no | Australia | 3 | 2 | 192.3 | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur | 16-Oct-13 | Won |
| 17 | 115 no | Australia | 3 | 2 | 174.24 | VCA Stadium, Nagpur | 30-Oct-13 | Won |
| 18 | 123 | New Zealand | 3 | 2 | 110.81 | McLean Park, Napier | 19-Jan-14 | Lost |
| 19 | 136 | Bangladesh | 3 | 2 | 111.47 | Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah | 26-Feb-14 | Won |
| 20 | 127 | West Indies | 3 | 1 | 111.4 | HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala | 17-Oct-14 | Won |
| 21 | 139 no | Sri Lanka | 4 | 2 | 110.31 | JSCA Stadium, Ranchi | 16-Nov-14 | Won |
| 22 | 107 | Pakistan | 3 | 1 | 84.9 | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | 15-Feb-15 | Won |
| 23 | 138 | South Africa | 3 | 1 | 98.57 | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 22-Oct-15 | Won |
| 24 | 117 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 100 | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne | 17-Jan-16 | Lost |
| 25 | 106 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 115.21 | Manuka Oval, Canberra | 20-Jan-16 | Lost |
| 26 | 154 no | New Zealand | 3 | 2 | 114.92 | IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali | 23-Oct-16 | Won |
| 27 | 122 | England | 3 | 2 | 116.19 | Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune | 15-Jan-17 | Won |
| 28 | 111 no | West Indies | 3 | 2 | 96.52 | Sabina Park, Kingston | 06-Jul-17 | Won |
| 29 | 131 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 136.45 | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | 31-Aug-17 | Won |
| 30 | 110 no | Sri Lanka | 3 | 2 | 94.82 | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | 03-Sep-17 | Won |
| 31 | 121 | New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 96.8 | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 22-Oct-17 | Lost |
| 32 | 113 | New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 106.6 | Green Park Stadium, Kanpur | 29-Oct-17 | Won |
| 33 | 112 | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 94.11 | Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban | 01-Feb-18 | Won |
| 34 | 160 no | South Africa | 3 | 1 | 100.62 | Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town | 07-Feb-18 | Won |
| 35 | 129 no | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 134.37 | SuperSport Park, Centurion | 16-Feb-18 | Won |
| 36 | 140 | West Indies | 3 | 2 | 130.84 | ACA Stadium, Guwahati | 21-Oct-18 | Won |
| 37 | 157 no | West Indies | 3 | 1 | 121.71 | ACA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam | 24-Oct-18 | Tied |
| 38 | 107 | West Indies | 3 | 2 | 89.91 | Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune | 27-Oct-18 | Lost |
| 39 | 104 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 92.85 | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | 15-Jan-19 | Won |
| 40 | 116 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 96.67 | Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur | 05-Mar-19 | Won |
| 41 | 123 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 129.47 | JSCA Stadium, Ranchi | 08-Mar-19 | Lost |
| 42 | 120 | West Indies | 3 | 1 | 96 | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain | 11-Aug-19 | Won |
| 43 | 114 no | West Indies | 3 | 2 | 115.15 | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain | 14-Aug-19 | Won |
| 44 | 113 | Bangladesh | 3 | 1 | 124.17 | Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong | 10-Dec-22 | Won |
| 45 | 113 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 129.88 | ACA Stadium, Guwahati | 10-Jan-23 | Won |
| 46 | 166 no | Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 150.9 | Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram | 15-Jan-23 | Won |
| 47 | 122 no | Pakistan | 3 | 1 | 129.78 | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | 10-Sep-23 | Won |
| 48 | 103 no | Bangladesh | 3 | 2 | 106.18 | Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune | 19-Oct-23 | Won |
During successful run chases in ODIs, Kohli is second to none. He has scored 23 centuries and 25 half-centuries in India's successful chases, and averages a godly 90.40 in 102 matches.
It remains to be seen whether India will bat first or second against South Africa on Sunday. Either way, a billion and more hearts will be aflutter in the anticipation of a special feat on a special day for a special cricketer.
