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Virat Kohli took 111 deliveries to reach his record-extending ODI century.
Virat Kohli was at his vintage best on Sunday. (AP Photo)
Virat Kohli smashed a sizzling drive through covers against Khushdil Shah to get to his record-extending 51st ODI century and seal a big, six-wicket win over Pakistan. The chase-master was in his vintage, brutal mode and gave the Men in Green no chance in his 111-ball knock.
He’s now two centuries clear of the great Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the ODI hundreds list, having crossed him with 50 ODI tons against New Zealand in Wankhede during the 2023 World Cup.
Watch the moment here:
Kohli was almost racing against the small target to get to his hundred and the situation came to a point when he was at 96 and India needed only two runs to finish the 242-run chase. There was some communication from the dressing room, too, where Rohit Sharma looked like suggesting Kohli hit a big one and get to his three figures. After Kohli’s boundary against Shah, he gestured ‘I am here’ back to him.
On the way, he broke multiple records, becoming the fastest to 14,000 ODI runs, equalling Tendulkar’s record for most 50+ scores in ICC ODI tournaments and beating Ricky Ponting to achieve the third-highest runs in international cricket.
“For me, I have a decent understanding of the game over the years,” he said after the match. “For me, it’s about keeping the outside noise and the distractions away. I try to stay in my space as much as possible, and really take care of my energy levels, and what I am thinking about. Because it is easy for me to get pulled into the expectations and frenzy of these games. My job is to focus on my skills and to be able to do the job for my team as much as I can and one of the keynotes there is that I kept telling myself on the field whenever I was feeling a little bit down, I’m gonna put 100 percent on every ball and sometimes I will get rewards for the hard work I put on the ground. That’s why I take a lot of pride in working hard and running around the field. I think god rewards you accordingly.”
