- By Himanshu Badola
- Tue, 12 Sep 2023 03:42 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Virat Kohli was one of the many star performers for India in their 228-run thumping victory over the arch-rivals Pakistan on Monday.
Kohli put up a show with the bat as he smashed his 47th ODI century to help his team register a memorable first win in the Super Four stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
While Virat and KL Rahul put up a show with the bat, having scored respective centuries for their 233-run stand, Kuldeep Yadav led the bowling chart with a stunning five-wicket haul.
His brilliant bowling effort of 5/25 helped India restrict the Babar Azam-led side to 128 runs in 32 overs as India clinched the top spot in of Asia Cup 2023 Super 4s table.
Former Indian cricket team star Gautam Gambhir praised Kuldeep Yadav after the game as he analysed the individual performances. "Can't look beyond Kuldeep Yadav. Yes, Virat Kohli has got a 100, KL Rahul got a 100, Rohit Sharma got a 50, and Shubman Gill got a 50. On a wicket like this where it was swinging, seaming, if someone can get five wickets in seven overs, it's brilliant. More importantly, I was surprised that Pakistan batters, who traditionally play spin really well, could not pick Kuldeep from his hand.
"I can understand if it was Australia, South Africa, or New Zealand. They don't play wrist spin that well. It just shows the quality of the bowler. He has beaten people in the air. And he has beaten people off the wicket as well. That is something good for Indian cricket."
Talking about the match, India posted a mammoth total of 356 for 2 with Kohli (122 not out off 94 balls) and Rahul (111 not out off 106 balls) putting up a show to dominate the Pakistani bowlers. While chasing, the Men in Green were almost below average with no batter reaching even the 30-run mark.
On the century count in ODIs, Kohli now stands just two behind Sachin Tendulkar's record 49.
Once India restarted the day from 147 for 2 in 24.1 overs, they needed Kohli and Rahul to go big, and they did that in some style.
Kohli also added some personal milestones to an already long list as he became the fastest batter to 13000 ODI runs, having scored his fourth ton in as many innings at the R Premadasa Stadium.
Kohli is only the second batter to achieve the feat of scoring four successive hundreds at a venue after South Africa's Hashim Amla, who made this sequence at Centurion.
However, Rahul's hundred was equally important from a team's perspective.