Virat Kohli turned back the clock on Sunday afternoon as he looked in the finest touch possible, hammering his 52nd ODI century, eventually playing a knock of 135 runs off 120 balls. His knock in the first ODI against South Africa in Ranchi helped India post 349 runs on the board, and in the end, this total proved to be enough as the hosts registered a narrow 17-run win as Kuldeep Yadav returned with four wickets.
This was the finest that Kohli looked in the middle since the 2023 ODI World Cup, and there was intent to his innings right from the start. He smashed seven sixes in his knock, and he didn’t even hesitate in attacking Nandre Burger and Marco Jansen inside the powerplay.
It’s no surprise that many fans were reminded of the Virat that used to dominate bowling attacks across the world in the period from 2016 to 2019. The assessment was not just limited to the fans of the superstar; rather, the same notion was echoed by Virat’s teammate Kuldeep.
“My career started when Virat bhai was the captain. Aisa lag raha tha, main 8-9 saal piche chala gaya. (The way he batted, I felt I had gone back 8-9 years). The way he was batting in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019,” said Kuldeep in a video posted by BCCI.
“It was a very good innings, and he looked very confident. Whatever the shot selection was, the ball was coming nicely off the bat,” he added.
Virat’s innings was studded with 11 boundaries and 7 sixes, and he was also involved in a 136-run stand with Rohit Sharma for the second wicket, which saw the latter also score 57 runs.
Tilak’s reaction
Tilak Varma, who saw the masterclass by the 37-year-old from the dressing room, also highlighted how he was truly lucky to see such a knock up close and personal.
“We have seen one of the best knocks again. I am very happy that I have seen a 100 of Virat bhai live,” said Tilak.
“He has always been electrifying in the field. The batting, fielding, everything. He is absolutely top. I have learnt a lot, and it’s a pleasure to watch him live. I will keep talking to him, and I will try to learn as much as I can,” he added.
For this performance, Virat was adjudged as Player of the Match and speaking to the host broadcaster, the former India captain confirmed that he will continue to play just one format.
His remark came amid growing reports that Virat had been asked by the BCCI to reconsider his Test retirement. Virat had retired from the longest format earlier this year, just days before the squad announcement for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England.
