Twitter went into overdrive after India talisman Virat Kohli struck his 46th ODI hundred in the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.

The talismanic batter looked in majestic touch throughout his unbeaten innings of 166 off 110 deliveries as he raced to a 74th international century overall.

During his blistering knock in the capital of Kerala, Virat Kohli showed a different dimension of his batting prowess as he smashed eight sixes, including one that went as far as 97 meters. It is the most number of sixes the former India captain has slammed in during an ODI knock. Apart from eight hits over the fence, the Delhi-born cricketer's knock was laced with 13 boundaries.

A sublime Virat Kohli completed his hundred in 85 deliveries but immediately shifted gears after accomplishing the landmark. The 166 not out is his highest score at home and the second-highest in One-Day Internationals.

En route to his innings at the Greenfield Stadium, Virat Kohli broke a flurry of world records.

The ton was his 21st at home in the second-longest format of the sport, taking him clear of Sachin Tendulkar's previous tally of 20.

During the course of his sensational innings, Virat Kohli also overtook Sri Lanka legend Mahela Jayawardene to occupy the fifth spot among the highest run-getters in ODIs. With 12,754 runs, Virat Kohli is now only behind Sachin Tendulkar (18,426), Kumar Sangakkara (14,234), Ricky Ponting (13,704), and Sanath Jayasuriya (13,430).

Virat Kohli also became the first non-opener to have 5 scores of more than 150+ in ODIs.

Moreover, Virat Kohli is the quickest to amass 46 centuries in ODI cricket – a milestone he achieved in just 259 innings. On the other hand, the previous record holder Sachin Tendulkar needed 431 innings to get there.

This was his 10th century against Sri Lanka, making him the first man to score that many tons against a single team in ODIs. Previously, he and Sachin Tendulkar were tied at nine three-figure scores each against Sri Lanka, West Indies, and Australia respectively.

Earlier in the series, when he hit his 9th hundred against Sri Lanka, he became the only cricketer to have that many three-figure scores against two international sides. Kohli has nine tons against the West Indies as well.

Virat Kohli has been in sensational nick of late. This was his third hundred in his last four games, including his 44th ODI hundred in December against Bangladesh, ending a nearly three-year drought in the format.

His record-breaking knock once again mesmerized his vast legion of fans who took to Twitter to salute the run-machine.

“3 centuries in 4 innings, Kohli is on a century spree. The protracted lean patch thing of the past. Would have liked more runs in recent Test cricket though,” cricket pundit Ayaz Memon tweeted.

“Virat Kohli once had a patch where he had no ODI centuries for 24 consecutive innings. Now he has 3 in the last 4 innings!” another remarked.

“With the bottom hand jab shot back, Virat Kohli is a different beast with the bat now,” a third wrote.

“Waaaah Virat Wah…converting hundred into big daddy hundred…and hey guys can you see the strike almost touching 150…this is modern-day cricket one needs to try and play,” fourth said.

“Virat Kohli is at his best when there's no pressure, series not on the line and conditions great for batting. There's no harm in gaining confidence and form in such matches, India need him to perform well in Test cricket with Australia coming over,” a fifth declared.

“Virat Kohli scored 72nd, 73rd, 74th International hundred in last 4 innings. Aur kitni bar dil jeetoge, Viraaaatt?” a sixth asked.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill, who also scored a hundred, had the best seat in the house to watch the master from the other end.

 

Lauding Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill dubbed his knock “amazing” before adding that there are many things youngsters like him could learn from the ex-India captain.

“Always feels good to convert a start into a big one. We were not looking at any target and were just trying to see how the pitch plays. The odd ball was keeping low and there was not much spin. When you are batting with Rohit or Virat, you don't have to do much. We were talking about targeting the bowlers and looked to score after the first three overs. [On Kohli] It is amazing to see what he does. I watched him growing up and it is incredible to see what he does. Once you get a start how to convert it into a hundred and how to convert those hundreds into 150-160 is a lesson we learn,” Shubman Gill said after India's innings.