Virat Kohli revealed that he was satisfied with his return to form as he played an integral role in India's 2-1 ODI series win over South Africa.

Kohli scored an unbeaten 65 in the decider as he helped his side chase down 271 with the loss of just one wicket, as Yashasvi Jaiswal scored his first-ever hundred in the format.

The 37-year-old ended this series with two hundreds, an average of 151 and having scored 302 runs in total.

Despite being widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in ODIs, Kohli struggled in Australia just a month earlier, bagging two consecutive ducks in his first limited-over series since the Indian Premier League ended.

In the post-series presentation, Kohli was naturally delighted to return to form in such a destructive way.

"Honestly, just playing the way I have in this series has been the most satisfying thing for me," said Kohli.

"I don't think I've played at this level for a good two-three years now and I feel really free in my mind and just the whole game is coming together nicely, [it's] very exciting to build on.

"And something that I've always tried to do as a player, maintain my own standards that I've set for myself and play at the level that I can make an impact for the team."

𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙

Virat Kohli raises the bar yet again!

One word to describe his performance this series? #TeamIndia | #INDvSA | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/rxUODgANN6

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 6, 2025

The former India captain made his ODI debut all the way back in August 2008, and admitted that there have been periods where he has doubted himself.

He said: "You tend to go into a space where you feel like maybe I'm not good enough, the nerves take over and that's the beauty of sport. 

"Especially a skill like batting where you have to keep overcoming that fear every ball that you play and eventually play long innings and get into a zone again where you can start playing confidently.

"It's a whole journey of learning and getting to know yourself better and becoming better as a person along the whole way.

"I've had many phases where I've doubted myself and I haven't been shy to admit that."

Kohli's ODI average stands at 58.46 and he has scored 53 centuries in the format, the most of any other player and four more than Sachin Tendulkar.

Along with Rohit Sharma, Kohli retired from test cricket earlier this year.