Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli showcased his brilliance once again in the Cricket World Cup 2023 match against South Africa. Kohli smashed his 49th One Day International (ODI) century, equaling the world record. Despite India choosing to bat first, Kohli’s remarkable innings of 101 runs off 121 balls helped the team set a challenging target of 326 runs on a challenging pitch.
However, there were some concerns about the pace at which Kohli accumulated his runs, especially in comparison to his teammates Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, and Suryakumar Yadav. During the innings break, Kohli explained his approach, shedding light on the tricky nature of the pitch.
Kohli emphasized, “It was a wicket that was tricky to bat on, we got a great start from Rohit and Shubman, my job was to keep it going on. The ball started gripping and turning after the 10th over, it slowed down, and then my role was to bat deep with the others playing around me. That was what was communicated to me by the team management.”
Apart from Kohli, Shreyas Iyer also played a crucial role in India’s innings, scoring 77 runs off 87 balls. Kohli emphasized the importance of their partnership, highlighting their prior practice sessions together.
“Shreyas played well, and we got a few more runs towards the end. We had a lot of chats during the Asia Cup, we bat at 3 and 4, so this was the partnership that was needed to take the game forward. We don’t have Hardik in the team, so we knew a wicket or two could cost us. We had to dig deep and take the match deep,” Kohli explained.
When asked about his record-breaking century, Kohli expressed his gratitude for reaching this milestone on his birthday.
“I’m grateful to God for giving me the chance to play and contribute to the team’s success. It’s great to get a hundred on my birthday in front of this big crowd at this great venue. The pitch is on the slower side, we have a quality bowling lineup as well, but we’ll have to work hard. Wickets will be the key; getting a couple early will put them under pressure with the way this pitch is behaving,” Kohli concluded.
Overall, Kohli’s exceptional century and his partnership with Iyer played a significant role in India’s strong total. The team now looks forward to utilizing their potent bowling lineup to put South Africa under pressure in the second innings.
