Chase-master Kohli thrills Pune with phenomenal performance

Virat Kohli hits classy century as India brush Bangladesh aside

Kohli’s hundred is his third at ICC Cricket World Cups and the 48th of his ODI career, but it looked all the world like he was going to full short of reaching triple figures when India required 19 runs to win with Kohli himself still 19 short of the landmark.

But, aided by KL Rahul at the other end, the 34-year-old took the strike through to the close of the innings, and reached the milestone he wanted with a maximum that also sealed victory.

There were a couple of occasions when the pair turned down easy singles, and another couple when they turned singles into rapid twos.

But the collaborative effort reaped its rewards, with Kohli’s century also seeing him named Player of the Match ahead of Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled exceptionally in the first innings, taking 2/38 from his 10 overs.

“Sorry for stealing it from Jaddu,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation.

“I wanted to make a big contribution. Having made fifties in World Cups, I wanted to finish it off this time.”

The fact that India reached their target with 51 balls remaining was just another reminder that Kohli is the perfect presence at No.3 in such a scenario, the master of the run chase.

So dominant has India’s top five been in this tournament so far, that Hardik Pandya’s eight-ball 11* is the only time the team have required a contribution from a player outside of those top five spots in their opening four games of the campaign.

Rahul’s selflessness in helping his teammate reach triple figures was even more eye-catching given that he was the player who ran out of runs to make his own hundred in the opening match against Australia.

Needing nine for his century and with five runs to win, Rahul looked to chip a ball over the top for four to set up the chance for a six to reach his hundred, only to connect too well and send the first shot soaring over the rope to win the match and leave him three runs short.

But Kohli’s contrasting innings began in remarkable style, as he punished Hasan Mahmud’s pair of no-balls in brutal fashion to remove any semblance of scoring-rate pressure.

“I was telling Shubman (Gill) that even if you dream about this situation, you go back to sleep," Kohli said of the start of his innings. "It was a dream start, it just calms you down.

“The pitch was good, allowed me to play my game - hit the gaps and find the boundaries whenever I could.”

It wasn’t just with the bat that Kohli played a starring role.

The crowd in Pune went wild when the 34-year-old started warming up to take over from the injured Pandya halfway through an over in the first innings.

Kohli’s three deliveries yielded two singles, and marked the first time that he has turned his arm over in an ODI since 2017.

ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup: Tournament Stats

Kohli’s unbeaten 103* means that only his captain has now scored more runs so far at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, with the pair sitting top two in the Most Runs table.