(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] The Chase Master and Ton Machine Virat Kohli yet again displayed his supreme form by notching his 48th ODI hundred while chasing in the 17th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against Bangladesh at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.
Bangladesh batted first and looked solid in the powerplay, having lost their first wicket in the 15th over of the match at the score at 93. However, Indian bowlers successfully restricted them to 256 runs in the end.
While chasing, India captain Rohit Sharma was at his very imperious best, smashing the ball all over the field and providing the best possible start with the help of Shubman Gill, who notched his maiden World Cup fifty. However, both openers were dismissed after building a fine opening partnership. Kohli carried on with the unfinished business, remaining not out with a score of 103 runs off 97 balls and helping India chase down the target in 41.3 overs.
Kohli, who completed his 26,000 international runs on Thursday, also notched his 48th ODI hundred and 78th international century. The Delhi-born batter is just one ton away from equalizing the record of India great Sachin Tendulkar, who scored most ODI tons (49) in his career. Notably, it was Kohli’s first World Cup hundred while chasing.
At one point, India were 29 runs away from the target, and Kohli needed 28 runs to get to the three-figure mark. KL Rahul ensured that the 34-year-old reached his hundred by being on the non-striker’s end. Rahul revealed in the post-match interview why Kohli was initially hesitant to go for his hundred and how he convinced him to complete the milestone.
“He [Kohli] was confused, he said it will not look too nice, not to take the single, it’s still a World Cup, and it’s still a big stage. ‘I don’t want to look like I am just trying to get the milestone’. But I said, I mean it is not won but still I think we’ll win quite easily, so if you can get to the milestone why not, you must try. And he did that in the end. I wasn’t going to run the singles anyway,” Rahul told Star Sports.