List of Virat Kohli's top 10 ODI centuries in successful chases — Ranked

Virat Kohli’s reputation as one of ODI cricket’s greatest run-getters is connected closely to his supreme record while chasing. With 55 centuries in the 50-over format, Kohli has regularly produced some match-defining innings one after another when the blue brigade gets asked to bat in the second innings. That gave him the nickname of ‘chase master.’ 

Kohli has the superb skill and ability to pace an innings under pressure. During a chase, it becomes vital to know when to slow down and respect the bowlers, while accelerating when the required run rate rises. Most importantly, he has scored centuries and remained unbeaten to complete chases on most occasions.

From the breathtaking knock of 183 runs for India against Pakistan in 2012 to several unbeaten centuries that guided the blue brigade across the difficult targets, Kohli has delivered some of the most memorable ODI performances while chasing. These knocks have come against a variety of opponents, and in difficult match situations, he highlighted the consistency of his batting performance across more than a decade.

Kohli has smashed 8638 runs in chases out of 166 ODI innings at an average of 66.45 and a strike rate of 94.63 with the help of 30 centuries and 45 half-centuries at the best score of 183. Out of those, his 6374 runs in 106 innings came in India’s victories at an average of 91.05, with 25 centuries and 29 fifties.

Virat Kohli’s top 10 ODI centuries in successful chases

In the list, Kohli’s 10 ODI centuries in successful chases have been ranked based on the runs he scored in each innings. From the massive centuries to the unbeaten match-winning knocks, these performances have offered a very statistical look at why the Delhi-born became so much associated with successful run chases.

#10 155* vs Australia in Nagpur (2013)-

It was the sixth ODI of the seven-match series between India and Australia at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur when the visitors posted a massive score of 350 runs for the loss of six wickets in their allotted 50 overs, thanks to Shane Watson’s 102 runs and George Bailey’s 156 off 114 deliveries.

After the 178-run opening partnership, it was important for their number three to continue the same pace of the chase. And he delivered as anticipated. The right-handed batter smacked an undefeated knock of 115 runs off 66 balls at a strike rate of 174.24 as the blue brigade completed the chase by six wickets.

Brief Scores: India 351/4 (Virat Kohli 115*, Shikhar Dhawan 100, Mitchell Johnson 2/72) beat Australia 350/6 (George Bailey 156, Shane Watson 102, Ravichandran Ashwin 2/64) by 6 wickets.

#9 117 vs West Indies in Visakhapatnam (2011)-

It was the second ODI of the series between India and West Indies at the Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, where the visitors registered a decent score of 269 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their 50 overs, shouldering on the two fifties from Lendl Simmons and Ravi Rampaul.

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India were under immense pressure, being restricted to 29/2; Kohli walked into the middle. His partnership of 163 runs for the fourth wicket with Rohit Sharma (90*) took them over the line by five wickets. Kohli smashed 117 runs at the end, thanks to his 14 boundaries.

Brief Scores: India 270/5 (Virat Kohli 117, Kemar Roach 2/40) beat West Indies 269/6 (Ravi Rampaul 86*, Umesh Yadav 3/38) by 5 wickets.

#8 118 vs Australia in Visakhapatnam (2010)-

It was the second ODI of the 2010 series in Visakhapatnam against Australia, who posted a huge score of 289/3 in their 50 overs, after being restricted to 16/2. Michael Clarke remained unbeaten on 111 runs, along with half-centuries from Michael Hussey and Cameron White, who blasted a dashing knock of 89 runs off just 69 balls at a strike rate of 181.63, with the help of six boundaries and as many sixes.

Kohli walked out into the middle when they were stuck at 35/2. But he partnered Yuvraj Singh for the 137-run stand, where the former smashed a fine knock of 118 runs with 11 boundaries and one six. Suresh Raina nailed 71* as the hosts completed the chase by five wickets.

Brief Scores: India 292/5 (Virat Kohli 118, Clint McKay 3/55) beat Australia 289/3 (Michael Clarke 111*, Ashish Nehra 2/57) by 5 wickets.

#7 122 vs England in Pune (2017)-

It was the opening 50-over clash between India and England from the 2017 series at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. The latter ended up with 350/7, thanks to three fifties from Jason Roy, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes. During the chase, the blue brigade was reduced to 63/4 when Kohli and Kedar Jadhav took control of the game.  

They registered a 200-run fifth-wicket stand between them as Kohli returned after a dashing 122-run knock off just 105 balls along with Jadhav’s 120 in 76 balls, thanks to 12 boundaries and four sixes. The home side completed the chase by three wickets with 11 balls to spare.

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Brief Scores: India 356/7 (Virat Kohli 122, Kedar Jadhav 120, Jake Ball 3/67) beat England 350/7 (Joe Root 78, Jason Roy 73, Hardik Pandya 2/46) by 3 wickets.

#6 136 vs Bangladesh in Fetullah (2014)-

It was the second clash of the Asia Cup 2014 between India and Bangladesh at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fetullah, when the home side posted a decent score of 279 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their allotted 50 overs thanks to Mushfiqur Rahim’s 117 and Anamul Haque’s 77-run knock.

The Indian side lost both their openers cheaply before Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane’s 213-run partnership for the third wicket stabled the ship and pushed them towards victory. The Delhi-born nailed 136 runs off 122 balls while Rahane clubbed 73 runs. They scripted the victory by six wickets.

Brief Scores: India 280/4 (Virat Kohli 136, Ziaur Rahman 1/20) beat Bangladesh 279/7 (Mushfiqur Rahim 117, Mohammed Shami 4/50) by 6 wickets.

#5 139* vs West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram (2026)-

The recent times have seen the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star taking the 50-over format in an aggressive manner. And he displayed the same approach during the opening ODI of the West Indies series at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, when he smashed a thrilling knock of unbeaten 139 runs off just 88 balls to complete the 296-run chase.

His knock was arranged with 10 boundaries and nine sixes at a strike rate of 157.95. That was the greatest number of sixes the right-handed batter has nailed in a single knock of the 50-over format. He also crossed the 15000-run mark while celebrating his 55th century in the 50-over format.

Brief Scores: India 300/2 (Virat Kohli 139*, Shubman Gill 110, Roston Chase 1/64) beat West Indies 295/7 (Justin Greaves 101, Kuldeep Yadav 4/40) by 8 wickets.

#4 139* vs Sri Lanka in Ranchi (2014)-

During the fifth and final ODI of the series between India and Sri Lanka in 2014 at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi, the visiting captain Angelo Matthews’ fine unbeaten knock of 139 runs shouldered them to 286 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their allotted 50 overs.

See Also: India's top 10 successful ODI chases in history, Ranked

The chase didn’t start well for the blue brigade, who were reduced to 14/2 in the fifth over before Kohli and Ambati Rayudu celebrated a fine 136-run stand between them, where the former remained unbeaten on 139 runs off 126 balls at a strike rate of 110.32 to complete the three-wicket chase. 

Brief Scores: India 288/7 (Virat Kohli 139*, Ajantha Mendis 4/73) beat Sri Lanka 286/8 (Angelo Mathews 139*, Dhawan Kulkarni 3/57) by 3 wickets.

#3 133* vs Sri Lanka in Hobart (2012)-

During the Tri-series 2012 encounter between India and Sri Lanka at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart, the latter made their way to 320/4 in their allotted 50 overs, thanks to the 200-run second-wicket partnership between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara. The former remained unbeaten on 160 runs while Sangakkara smashed 105 runs.

India were required to chase the target in 40 overs. Along with a fiery start with the bat, they continued to lose wickets as Gautam Gambhir made a fine 63-run knock. However, the most impressive innings was Kohli’s unbeaten 133 runs in just 86 balls at a strike rate of 154.55 as they completed the chase by seven wickets in just 36.4 overs.

Brief Scores: India 321/3 (Virat Kohli 133*, Farveez Maharoof 1/21) beat Sri Lanka 320/4 (Tillakaratne Dilshan 160*, Kumar Sangakkara 105, Ravindra Jadeja 1/43) by 7 wickets.

#2 154* vs New Zealand in Mohali (2016)-

It was the third ODI of the 2011 World Cup champions in 2016 against New Zealand at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, where the visitors were bundled out for 285 runs in 49.4 overs, after two half-centuries from Tom Latham and James Neesham. Umesh Yadav returned with figures of 3/75 in 10 overs.

The blue brigade completed the chase by seven wickets. They were under pressure at 41/2 in the ninth over of the innings before Kohli and the former captain, MS Dhoni, registered a fine partnership of 151 runs for the third wicket. The Delhi-born remained unbeaten on 154 runs off 134 balls, hitting 16 boundaries and one six. 

Brief Scores: India 289/3 (Virat Kohli 154*, Matt Henry 2/56) beat New Zealand 285 (Tom Latham 61, Kedar Jadhav 3/29) by 7 wickets.

#1 183 vs Pakistan in Mirpur (2012)-

During the Asia Cup 2012 clash between India and Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, the 224-run opening stand between the two centurions, Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed, gave them a strong platform in the batting department. Younis Khan also smacked a 32-ball 52-run knock as they made their way to 329/6 in their allotted 50 overs.

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The blue brigade lost their opening wicket on the second delivery. The back-to-back century-run stands finally shouldered India over the line by six wickets with 13 deliveries to spare as Kohli nailed 183 runs in 148 balls at a strike rate of 123.65, with the help of 22 boundaries and a pair of two sixes.

Brief Scores: India 330/4 (Virat Kohli 183, Umar Gul 2/65) beat Pakistan 329/6 (Nasir Jamshed 112, Mohammad Hafeez 105, Ashok Dinda 2/47) by 6 wickets.

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