Virat Kohli breaks another Sachin Tendulkar record in men's international cricket after series win against South Africa

Virat Kohli has ended 2025 with a bang, aggregating 302 runs in the three-match ODI series against South Africa at home. The veteran batter smashed two centuries and an unbeaten fifty, and his strike-rate of 117 in the series was a standout feature of his batting. Fittingly, Kohli was awarded Player of the Series (POTS) award for his consistent performances.

It was Kohli's 20th POTS award in international cricket, overtaking Sachin Tendulkar (19) in the list of players with most such awards in international cricket. Coincidentally, Kohli did so in the very format where he eclipsed Tendulkar for the most centuries by a batter. The 37-year-old also became the first batter to scale the peak of 50 ODI tons and currently has 53 centuries in the format.

Kohli now has 11 POTS awards in ODIs, level with Sanath Jayasuriya at second spot. Tendulkar (14) tops this list and might keep this record, especially with India playing fewer ODIs these days. Meanwhile, Kohli continued his unprecedented romance with Vizag in ODIs by registering yet another fifty-plus score at the venue.

In eight ODI innings at Vizag, Kohli has smashed three hundreds, a 99 and two other fifties with a jaw-dropping average of 108.66 and strike rate of 103.49 - freak numbers indeed. During the course of this series, Kohli seemed to be batting at closest to his peak years as white-ball batter, something that he himself acknowledged after receiving the POTS award.

"Honestly, playing the way I have in the series is the most satisfying thing for me," said Kohli at the post-match presentation ceremony after receiving the Player of the Series award.

"I feel really free in my mind. I haven't played like this in 2-3 years. I know when I can bat like that in the middle, it helps the team a long way. Makes me confident, any situation in the middle, I can handle that and bring it in favor of the team."