Three best knocks by Virat Kohli as India's ODI captain

Virat Kohli's stint as India's ODI captain came to an end on Wednesday. Rohit Sharma was named the new skipper in the 50-over format in addition to T20 Internationals (T20Is).

India's Test team for the tour of South Africa was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). With that announcement, they also mentioned in the statement:

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee also decided to name Mr Rohit Sharma as the Captain of the ODI & T20I teams going forward."

The BCCI went on to thank Kohli for his contributions a day later with a tweet acknowledging his staggering record.

The 33-year-old captained India in 95 matches, out of which the team went on to win 65. There were 27 defeats, one tie and two matches that ended without a result.

He also led India to the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup, in addition to the 2017 Champions Trophy final. Unfortunately, they lost those matches to New Zealand and Pakistan respectively.

If the captaincy brings on extra pressure, Kohli rarely showed it as he starred with the bat and led from the front. He scored 5449 runs at an average of 72.65, which is the highest for any player who has captained in more than 75 ODIs.

Kohli scored 21 ODI centuries as captain, the most by an Indian. Only Ricky Ponting (22) has more centuries than him while leading their team in the world.

A prolific run-scorer, Kohli has played some crucial knocks to dig India out of trouble as captain. Let's take a look at some of the best ones.

Here are three top Virat Kohli knocks as ODI captain:

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#3. 157* vs West Indies (2018)

Virat Kohli was in sublime form in the five-match series at home against the West Indies in 2018. He tonned up in the first three games, beginning with the series opener.

In the second match in Visakhapatnam, the skipper came out to bat in the fourth over, with the scorecard reading 15/1. India lost their second wicket not long after, but Kohli steadied the innings along with Ambati Rayudu.

The duo put on 139 runs for the fifth wicket before Rayudu fell for 73.

Kohli continued despite losing partners at the other end. He accelerated during the death overs to take India to a total of 321/6.

He hit 13 boundaries and four sixes in his 129-ball knock.

It was his fourth score of 150 or more in ODIs.

However, a century from Shai Hope and a knock of 94 from Shimron Hetmyer saw the West Indies manage to tie the match.

That meant Kohli achieved a unique feat, i.e., scoring centuries in a win, a loss and a tie in the same series.

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#2. 160* vs South Africa (2018)

Virat Kohli celebrates his century at Cape Town

In 2018, India played a six-match ODI series in South Africa. It was another series that saw Virat Kohli in red hot form as he tonned up in three matches of the series.

In the 3rd ODI in Cape Town, Kohli scored a brilliant unbeaten 160 on a tough pitch as India romped to victory.

Kohli has often been credited with raising fitness standards in the Indian men's team. He showed why he is considered among the fittest players in the world that day. He batted 159 deliveries for the knock, running for 100 of his 160 runs, and of course those of his partners.

It wasn't one of his flashiest or more explosive knocks, but one that got the job done. Coming in to bat with the score at 0/1, Kohli built up a 140-run partnership with Shikhar Dhawan (76).

After that, he had little support from the rest. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the next highest scorer with 16 runs.

However, he stayed at the crease for 49 overs and ensured that India got a big enough score.

Kohli hit 12 boundaries and two sixes, but his running between the wickets was the hallmark of the innings.

It was also his highest score as ODI captain.

India finished with 303/6. They comprehensively beat South Africa by 124 runs as the wrist-spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav ran riot. The duo picked four wickets each as South Africa were bowled out for 179.

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#1. 122 vs England (2017)

In his first match since taking over as India's ODI captain, Virat Kohli helped the team complete a steep chase against a rampant England in Pune.

Scores of 78 and 73 from Joe Root and Jason Roy respectively and a rapid 62 from Ben Stokes powered England to 350/7.

It did not help that India were two wickets down inside the first six overs. They lost Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni in the next six and were staring at defeat.

But Kohli showed why he is seen as the master of chase with a brilliant knock of 122 off 102 deliveries. He put on a crucial 203-run stand with Kedar Jadhav (120).

India still needed 88 runs when Kohli fell, but his innings set the platform for a successful chase.

Hardik Pandya went on to score 40. Ravichandran Ashwin (15* off 10) hit the winning six as India finished the game with an over and five deliveries to spare.

While he did not stick around to finish things off, Kohli still played a crucial knock after a poor start from the team. He led from the front as he got his captaincy stint off to a winning start.