An avalanche of memes flooded Twitter after premier India batter Virat Kohli toppled multiple Sachin Tendulkar records en route to his 46th ODI ton against Sri Lanka on Sunday.

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).

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.

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.

The fans enjoyed Virat Kohli's sublime hundred at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram and took to the microblogging platform to express their views through memes and jokes.

 

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.

Virat Kohli, on the other hand, was extremely pleased with his performance with the bat in the Kerala capital.

“[On receiving awards] It is the by-product of the intent I have. Mindset is to help the team, and put the team in strong position. I have played for the right reasons and that has helped. Ever since I came back from the break, I am feeling good and I don't have desperation to get to a milestone. I want to continue doing that and am content. Today I was happy to be batting out there and in that space I end up playing good cricket. I am in a nice space right now, just be organic. Shami has always been there for us with the new ball. But the way Siraj has come in and done with the new ball has been fantastic. He picks wickets in the powerplay, which was an issue in the past. It is a great sign for us heading into the World Cup,” he told Star Sports at the post-match presentation.