SA vs IND 2018, 3rd ODI: Twitter Explodes as Virat Kohli's 34th ODI Ton Guides India to Big Total

In-form Virat Kohli scored his third century of the tour and the second in the ongoing series as India posted a massive 303 for 6 in the ongoing third One-Day International against South Africa at Newlands, Cape Town.

Sent in to bat first, India were off to a start which did not surprise many. The openers failed to stitch together a good stand as out-of-form Rohit Sharma departed for a duck in the very first over. The right-handed batsman, who has failed to get going, perished after edging a Kagiso Rabada delivery behind the stumps. India, however, quickly recovered from the setback and soon took command of the proceedings courtesy of a big 140-run stand between Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli.

The partnership was looking unbreakable before Dhawan was dismissed by part-timer JP Duminy against the run of play. The southpaw miscued a shot while trying to clear the infield by stepping out, thus missing a deserved century by 24 runs.

Dhawan’s departure helped the Proteas claw their way back in the game as they dismissed Ajinkya Rahane and Hardik Pandya cheaply to reduce the visitors to 188 for 4 from 140 for 1. But while the wickets were falling from one end, Kohli held firm from anther and reached his 34th century off 119 balls.

Wickets, meanwhile, kept on falling from the other end. The reliable MS Dhoni also failed to complement his skipper from the other, falling while trying to up the ante after managing just 10 off 21 balls while Kedar Jadhav also departed without bothering the scorer much as India found themselves reduced to 236 for 6.

Kohli kept on going strong from one end and was well supported by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The India skipper reached his 150 in the last over of the innings and finished on 160 to guide the team to a mammoth total.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the innings:

Yet another ? for @imVkohli … the hunger & consistency is remarkable … the Greatest ever ODI player ??? #SAvIND

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 7, 2018

India’s run machine has done it again! 34th ODI 100. What a player!@ImVKohli May this form of yours go on and on! SAvsIND

— Suresh Raina?? (@ImRaina) February 7, 2018

Another masterclass from the modern-day master. What a knock @imVkohli. Amazes me every time I watch him bat. #SAvIND

— Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan) February 7, 2018

Unstoppable. Kohli is scoring centuries like he's turning pages in a book.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 7, 2018

Virat Kohli is perhaps going to go down as greatest ODI player of all time.

— Anuj Singhal अनुज सिंघल (@_anujsinghal) February 7, 2018

Amidst the runs that Virat Kohli scores, don't lose sight of his incredible fitness. His boundary percentage is quite low which means he runs a lot between wickets. And still has an excellent strike rate.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 7, 2018

As Indian Captain:

Most ODI 100s: Kohli
Most Test 100s: Kohli
Most Test 200s: Kohli

Whaddey Player!

— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) February 7, 2018

This batting order arrangement looks silly. We should leave batting to Kohli and logic to someone else

— ? (@LogicalBakwaas) February 7, 2018

When someone ask #Kohli "Why you score century everytime?"

Virat Kohli : pic.twitter.com/T33QCpu4KE

— Ye Koi ***** Hai Kya? (@intolerant_monk) February 7, 2018

When Virat goes to fill petrol, the attendant says 'Sahab 100 dekhna'#SAvIND

— Akash (@vaderakash) February 7, 2018

https://twitter.com/chinmaybhogle/status/961238326903824384

Even if he retires today, Virat Kohli will be one of the greatest batsmen of all time. #SAvIND #INDvSA

— Gautam (@gautammahajan11) February 7, 2018

Hardik Pandya is going Irfan Pathan, Robin Uthappa way.

— Krishna (@Atheist_Krishna) February 7, 2018

That spike on UltraEdge was Kohli's intent. #INDvSA

— Varun Shetty (@varunshetty) February 7, 2018

Routine of Indian players:

Rohit Sharma:
* gets up *
* goes to pitch *
* comes back in 10 minutes *

Dhoni:
* gets up *
* goes to pitch *
* finishes off in style *

Virat Kohli:
* gets up *
* goes to pitch *
* scored a hundred *#INDvSA

— sunil the cricketer (@1sInto2s) February 7, 2018

India's ODI team has quite a few vacancies. Young players in this IPL should be ready with their applications. #SAvIND

— Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) February 7, 2018

Put Rabada and Virat in a ring, with their gloves off. And Holding in the bowler's corner.#SAvsIND

— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) February 7, 2018

https://twitter.com/FarziCricketer/status/961197552631627777?

https://twitter.com/Th_RobOt/status/961207803678400512

What's Rohit Sharma's favourite seafood?
Bombay DUCK!#SAvInd #INDvsSA

— India Food Network (@ifn) February 7, 2018