Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli was stupendous with the bat once again as he hit his 40th one-day international century against Australia on Tuesday. Kohli’s remarkable 116-run innings played a massive role in seeing India take a 2-0 lead in the five-match ODI series.
Kohli’s brilliance as a batsman has helped him well in terms of his leadership attributes. The manner in which India pulled off a close encounter in Nagpur, showed Kohli’s boldness with the field settings and knowledge to get the bowling changes spot on.
Australia collapsed to hand India a tense eight-run win and at the moment Kohli is flying high in terms of leading the side from the front. His mettle was seen in India’s innings as he top scored with the bat. Kohli’s ability to come out strong depended a lot on his approach.
He kept the scorecard ticking and the 120 balls faced showed why he always kept in touch with the scoring rate. India were bowled out for 250 in 48.2 overs and Kohli’s 116 played a solid role. In reply, the tourists were well placed at 218-6 in the 45th over but lost their last five wickets for 24 runs.
The man of the moment was Kohli, who notched his 65th international ton. He also needs just 10 ODI tons more to get past legend Sachin Tendulkar (49). There have always been discussions regarding who is the best batsman in ODI cricket. But now we are getting a better view.
No doubt that Tendulkar has been phenomenal in his achievements and when it comes to overall application in ODIs and Tests, there is nobody better than him. Tendulkar was always considered as the best ODI batsman in terms of all the numbers and stats that came along.
Tendulkar also played numerous match-winning knocks. But Kohli with time looks to have taken the mantle as the best ODI batsman. His eyes for runs and hunger for match-winning knocks makes him a class above the rest. Kohli has already won 33 matches for India with his tons in ODIs. That’s the same number Tendulkar achieved from his 49 centuries.
Kohli’s dominance in the ODI circuit in recent years have tilted the balance in his favour. We expect the 30-year-old to soon surpass Sachin in terms of ODI hundreds. Getting to the feat way quicker then the legend is pretty remarkable. Kohli’s vision and the touch of class that comes with his captaincy as well, makes him the best batsman in the world in ODI cricket.
Kohli has also developed a knack of breaking Tendulkar’s milestones in ODI cricket since quite some time now. Whatever Tendulkar achieved along the way, Kohli is scripting these records in a much quicker fashion. Also his contributions in winning and ability to score equally in every corner of the world, makes him the perfect example of the modern day great in terms of status and records.