(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] India batter Virat Kohli batted like a dream in Pune, exhibiting another run-chase masterclass on his way to his 48th ODI hundred.
Quick ones and twos, classic fours, massive sixes – You asked, Kohli delivered. It was such a kind of innings from the modern-day legend.
India were given a target of 257 runs by Bangladesh. With Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill setting off the tone with their delectable 48 and 53 runs, the run-chase was already sealed, more so because Kohli was batting set.
The focus now had zoomed in on his hundred. At the start of the 38th over, India needed 28 runs to win with Kohli unbeaten on 73.
He thumped Hasan Mahmud for a maximum to bring down the deficit. Still, when the 39th over began, Kohli required as many runs for ton as India’s victory.
He pressed on a button that unleashed the six-hitter out of him. He denied singles in between and made up for it by striking another two sixes in the next three overs, bringing up a glorious century and powering India to their fourth consecutive win in the process.
The 34-year-old smashed his first World Cup hundred in the last eight years. In 2015, he had hammered a ton in the World Cup match versus Pakistan.
In a more significant achievement, his ODI centuries tally now stands at 48, one shy of Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 49 hundreds in the format.
If the fans at Dharamsala are lucky enough, they might just get to see Kohli tying Tendulkar’s world record when the Men in Blue go head-to-head with New Zealand on October 22.
For now, let’s not get to that and cherish every moment of this phenom and his phenomenal feats.