Virat Kohli started 2023 on a similar note, as he completed his 45th ODI ton to help India pile a staggering 373/7 in 50 overs against Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Guwahati on Tuesday.
The year 2022 was a good one for Virat Kohli as he ended his over 1000-day long century drought in the Asia Cup last year in UAE. Kohli had then smashed a century against Afghanistan in the continental tournament, following which he has not looked back yet. The former Indian skipper has been enjoying good outings and went to finish the year with another ton, which came in the final ODI against Bangladesh last month.
Moving forward Kohli started 2023 on a similar note, as he completed his 45th ODI ton to help India pile a staggering 373/7 in 50 overs against Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Guwahati on Tuesday. Kohli walked out to bat after captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill laid a perfect platform for the others to explode and the right-handed batter did exactly the same.
Kohli went to hit 113 off 87 balls, which featured 12 boundaries and one six. He took 80 deliveries to reach the milestone. Sharing his thoughts on his brilliant knock, Kohli during the innings break said: “I have had a bit of break, and a couple of practice sessions coming into this game, so I was fresh after that Bangladesh tour. I was excited for the home season to start.
“The openers allowed me to get into the game and I tried to keep my strike rate in check. I was happy I was able to maintain the tempo and we finished with 370.”
Kohli was also lucky on a couple of occasions during the course of his knock and the batter capitalised on the missed opportunities. “I would take those (dropped chances) any day. Luck plays a big part, you need to thank god on such evenings. These evenings are important, pretty aware of that. Thankful that I made the most of that luck presented to me. I helped the team get 20 runs extra, rather than 350.
“Someone will have to score a 150, or 140 to chase this down. But it also gives our bowlers a chance to bowl with dew coming into play,” said the former India captain.
