Virat Kohli is one of the most exemplary cricketers in the national team. His batting technique and his run-scoring ability have made him stand out amongst a slew of Indian cricketers and also made him into one of the finest batters and fielders of the world.
His ability to bat even better under pressure makes him a hero for millions and India is fortunate to have him on their side. Those beautiful flicks, elegant drives, classy pulls, sensational hooks, and out-of-the-box outrageous strokes make him an unparalleled athlete on the field.
He has crafted several magical knocks for his team that includes a staggering 70 centuries which when assorted into ODI and Tests read 43 and 27 respectively. A few of these knocks were nothing short of herculean and the man clawed his way to the top with persistent brilliance.
We will look at five centuries from Kohli that defied the odds and penned records that will stay immortal forever.
1. India vs Australia, 3rd Test, Melbourne, 2014-15
India was staring at a dead defeat after Steven Smith and Shane Watson put up an incredible stand together that propelled Australia to a monument 530. Late cameos from Ryan Harris and Brad Haddin disrupted all the calculations for the Indian bowlers and left them rattled.
India was off to a decent start but shortly started feeling the heat after Watson and Harris struck back, leaving India wobbling at 3 for 147. Rahane was struggling to keep his stance and that is when Kohli walked out.
After weathering the initial storm, Kohli started growing in confidence and started smoking every single bad delivery to the ropes.
The duo put together a stand of 272 runs, that saw India reaching 409 runs when Rahane was finally trapped before the wicket. With minimal resistance from the other batters, India crumbled shortly to the heat of the Australian bowlers, with Kohli putting up a stand until the dying ember.
He was the eighth wicket to fall when Haddin pouched a comfortable take as Kohli’s glittering knock of 169 runs finally came to a halt. He smashed 18 boundaries that saw India draft 465 in the first innings.
The match ended in a stalemate when Kohli once again took a phenomenal stand in the second innings to complete a brilliant 54 when the other batsmen kept on falling.
2. India vs Australia, 4th Test, Sydney, 2014-15
Barring Mohammad Shami, Indian bowlers were once again a disappointment, like Rogers, Warner, Watson, Shaun Marsh, Burns and Steven Smith put together incredible efforts to help Australia reach 572.
India got rocked early as Murali Vijay was dismissed for naught by Mitchell Starc. However, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma started fighting back until Sharma fell victim to the wily spin of Nathan Lyon.
It was once again the captain coming to the fore as Virat Kohli took his time and started taking control of the innings. He carved some exquisite strokes against the brutal pace of Starc and Hazlewood. He also circumnavigated the mystery bowling by Nathan Lyon and engineered sheer brilliance through his shots.
KL Rahul and Kohli kept on hitting the bowlers all around the park until Rahul fell for a brilliant 110. Kohli continued with the carnage, attacking the Australian bowlers regularly.
Once again after a middle-order collapse, Wriddhimaan Saha and Kohli stabilized the innings to a certain extent before the captain was finally removed from the helm by an excellent delivery from Ryan Harris.
He scored a brilliant 147 from 230 balls that saw him hammering 20 boundaries. Despite finishing on a trailing note, India managed to walk out with a draw, thanks to Kohli’s 46 again in the second innings.
3. India vs Australia, Adelaide, 2019
It seems that Kohli’s dalliance with Australia is extremely special as he doesn’t pass up a single opportunity to strike against the Yellow army.
It was the second ODI of the series that saw Australia batting heroically on an enigmatic pitch of Adelaide.
Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell’s heroic showdown helped Australia to reach a massive 298 for 4.
India was off to a flyer, thanks to some early pyrotechnics from Sharma and Dhawan but was shortly brought crumbling under as Stoinis and Behrendorff removed the opening duo.
With India reeling at 101 for 2, Virat Kohli took over the reins, took his own sweet time and started belting out one masterclass after the other.
Dancing down the track, he steered his shots very carefully and also managed to punish anything that was marginally off the intended length from the bowler.
In a heroic chase, he blasted a meaty 104 from 112 balls that helped India chase down the target with 6 wickets and 4 balls to spare.
Of course, there was some late contribution from Dhoni and Karthik, but Kohli’s blistering heroics refuted Australia the victory.
4. India vs South Africa, Cape Town, 2018
This was a very special performance from Virat Kohli that saw India dismantle South Africa from the roots.
After Sharma failed to judge Rabada’s pace and got out for a duck, Kohli and Dhawan took over the reins of the game.
They started playing those brutal strokes that drained the African bowlers completely and India kissed a monumental total of 303.
Kohli didn’t headlong in attacking the bowlers and played a very calm knock that saw him stitching together 160 runs from 159 balls.
He struck 12 fours and 2 sixes in the process, running extremely hard in the remaining occasion.
Indian bowlers did a commendable job that saw the Rainbow Nation bowled out for 179.
5. India vs Sri Lanka, Hobart, 2012
This was another special performance in the early days of Kohli that gave out glimpses of what was about to come in the offing.
Chasing a mammoth total of 321, Sehwag and Tendulkar were off to a blinder, striking heroically against every single delivery that came their way. Unfortunately, they couldn’t stick around and the departure of both the openers landed India in trouble.
However, Gambhir and Kohli took over the reins and started belting out remarkable strokes that left Sri Lanka scratching their heads.
After Gambhir got out Raina got into the party and Kohli stood until the very end to see India through within just 36.4 overs.
Kohli stayed unbeaten for an incredible 133 from just 86 balls that saw him bashing 16 fours and 2 sixes.
These were just a few glimpses of what Kohli is capable of on the days he got going.
