The glory and usual days of Virat Kohli in ODI cricket seems to be back, and back with a bang: after breaking his ODI century drought in Bangladesh, Kohli slammed two centuries in 3 ODIs against Sri Lanka.
This is a great news for Indian cricket and Kohli’s form has come as a shot in the arm as the Men In Blue prepare for the 2023 ODI World Cup at home.
In the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Guwahati, Kohli had cracked 113 (87), and, today, on Sunday, the 34-year-old was at his fluent best for the first half of his innings and at his aggressive best in the latter part of his knock as Kohli finished with 166* off 110 balls, creaming 13 fours and 8 sixes.
This was Kohli’s 45th ODI century – now only 4 tons behind Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries.
It was also one of his most fluent, and chanceless centuries, and he has 74 of them: according to ESPNcricinfo, Kohli was in control of 86% of shots, this is more pronounced by the fact that he batted all 10 overs in the fifth powerplay too where he aimed for the frequent boundaries and attempted big hits.
Despite attempting boundaries and playing risky shots in the slog overs, Kohli’s timing and placement were immaculate. This led to the IPL Chairman and the former BCCI Treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal praising Kohli.
Dhumal was in awe of Kohli’s ability to rack up runs today at the strike rate of 150 while still playing proper cricketing shots. He added that today’s innings from Kohli was a perfect one for youngsters to look up to.
“What a classic innings @imVkohli Not even one noncricketing shot and the way you steered that innings to reach 155 was not only a treat but great learning for any budding batter. Keep going. 2023 belongs to you!” Arun Singh Dhumal tweeted.
What a classic innings @imVkohli Not even one noncricketing shot and the way you steered that innings to reach 155 was not only a treat but great learning for any budding batter. Keep going. 2023 🏆 belongs to you !@BCCI @BCCIWomen
— Thakur Arun Singh (@ThakurArunS) January 15, 2023
Century from Shubman Gill (116 from 97), followed by that by Virat Kohli, helped India put 390 on the board. Sri Lanka, in reply, surrendered meekly and were bowled out for 73. India’s victory margin of 317 runs is the biggest in ODIs history in terms of runs.
