"Kohli goes out of the ground..."

This data deluge maps Cricketer Virat Kohli's record high centuries using never-seen-before stats and dataviz

I am not the best cricket fan. I mean I can name all the playing 11 from the Indian team, but I don’t go out of my way to keep in touch with each players’ form and trajectory on a daily basis. 

On October 25th in 2022, I was to give the GRE exam which in hindsight has a lot to do with where I stand today in my academic life. I was to take this exam 1 day after Diwali. For those unfamiliar, Diwali is when India becomes most festive. Trees and buildings are adorned with fairy lights and the ‘aftersmoke’ from the firecrackers take over the aromas of the Amaltas. All in all, it sucks to not be at home during a time as festive as this especially with the threat of a very important exam taking over you. 

On October 23 of 2022, I saw Virat Kohli play one of his best innings ever. It was a match against Pakistan and the odds were skewed against India. It was also one of most eventful innings. 1 no ball & free hit, 1 wide ball which caused the teams to tie in scores, 2 wickets in the middle batting order and a lot of sixes - all of this in the span of just 4 overs. I happened to catch this game which was played exactly 2 days before the exam I was supposed to give. 

Notwithstanding all the weeks of exam prep, this match had a lot to do with me scoring well. Competitive sports have an aspirational quality about them. They taught me valuable lessons in resilience &  patience in the face of setbacks. Seeing Virat Kohli bounce back from his so-called ‘out-of-form’ in that match did that for me.

A week back, he beat Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most ODI centuries in cricket (50 Centuries). So, in honour of this achievement of his, and my love for data and him, this post will be dedicated to his centuries. I will be analyzing all 80 of his centuries (100 runs+ plays) using data analytics and visualization. The dataset used is available on Kaggle.

Of all the countries he has scored a century playing against, Australia has been the one that’s most hit.

Whenever Kohli has hit a century, India has won the game 7 out of 10 times. This fact, along with the previous one is all the more relevant as India will be playing Australia in the Finals tomorrow. Although no matter what the stats say, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed nonetheless.

A lot of a team’s and a player’s success in cricket depends on the stadium they’re playing in. And I don’t mean the physicality of the stadium or the condition of the pitch. I mean the atmosphere. Playing a match in someone’s home ground is inherently advantageous to the team as most of the audience in the stands will be cheering for the home team. Additionally, the team/player might be more familiar with the ground’s physical status like the pitch condition. However, for Virat Kohli hitting centuries, there seems to be no home ground preference. He swings to triple digits irrespective of him playing in the home ground or not.

While Sachin Tendulkar has played as an opener for most of his career, Virat usually goes 1 down which means that he enters to bat once a wicket has been taken by the opposite team. But there also have been instances where he has chosen to be 2nd down which means he bats 4th in the batting order.

He clearly has scored more centuries as third in the batting order than in any other position, but he scores more runs during his play when he plays in the 4th batting order.

A lot of a player’s strategy and psyche also depends on what innings they are playing. For a batsman, first innings means that they are the ones who set the score, and second means that they are the ones who chase the score set by another team.

For Virat, 60% of his centuries are scored in the second innings when India is chasing the score made by the other team. For those of you confused by the number 3 & 4 in the ‘Innings’ column, they exist as test matches are played in 4 innings.

And here’s the trajectory of his centuries plotted against time. He is clearly bouncing back strong after 2 years of not scoring in the triple digits.

In the world of cricket and viral moments, Kohli's centuries aren't just numbers on a scoreboard; they are a spectacle that unites fans, transcends borders, and ignites a passion for the sport. As data illuminates the patterns in these records, it is important to remember that they are not just a data point or a statistic. Each one of them has a unique tale to tell.