Indian legend, Virat Kohli has been serving the men in blue for over 14 years now, and he has been a superstar ever since. His ODI debut came in 2008 against Sri Lanka at Dambulla. From that game onwards, Kohli never looked back in his career and worked hard to become one of the greats of Indian cricket. He also led India for a long time before giving up the captaincy. At the age of 34, he is scaling new heights. On Tuesday, he scored his 20th ODI ton at home to equal Sachin Tendulkar’s record.
Virat Kohli scored a blistering 113 off 87 balls against Sri Lanka in Guwahati to help India post 373/7 in 50 overs. Ultimately India won the match by 67 runs. In the post-match presentation, Kohli made some big statements while reflecting on his latest milestone.
As quoted by NDTV, Virat Kohli said, “I don’t think there was anything different. My preparation and intention is always the same. I felt I was hitting the ball well. It was closer to the template that With the way I played, I understood we needed an extra 25-30 runs. I tried to read the conditions in the second half. Tried to get a comfortable total for us on the board.”
PLAYER OF THE MATCH 👑 Kohli eyes his match winner 45th ODI 💯 at first Mastercard #indvsl ODI and clarity though that helps him score big!
Watch them live in the 2nd ODI on January 12 at 12:30 PM on Star Sports and Disney+Hotstar.#FollowTheBlues #believe pic.twitter.com/VXJbBwiI9Q
– Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 10, 2023
He further added, “One thing I learned was that frustration gets you nowhere. You don’t need to complicate things. You go out there and play without fear, I can’t hold things down. You’ve got to play for the right reasons and play almost every game like it’s your last and just be happy about it. The game is about to move on. I’m not going to play forever; I am happy and enjoying my time here.
Asked to bat first, India made the most of the batting-friendly conditions to post a match-winning score thanks to Virat Kohli’s knock and fluent half-centuries from his successor Rohit Sharma (83) and Shubman Gill (70). 373 for seven in their allotted quota of overs on a batting friendly strip. During the chase, Sri Lanka were never in the hunt and scored 306 for eight in 50 overs to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the rubber.
After opener, Pathum Nissanka was dismissed after scoring 72, captain Dasun Shanaka was the lone warrior as he scored a counterattacking century even as the others failed to put up any resistance. In the end, Shanaka remained unbeaten after scoring 108 runs in 88 balls. Young pace merchants Umran Malik (3/57) and Mohammad Siraj (2/30) gave the Islanders any hope of getting back in the game.
