"You just bow your head down and thank God on these kind of evenings" - Virat Kohli 

Team India batter Virat Kohli marked the start of a crucial ODI home season with a blistering hundred against Sri Lanka in the series opener on Tuesday, January 10. The former skipper made full use of a belter of a track to score his 45th ODI hundred, his first home hundred in the format in almost four years, to help India amass a mammoth 373-7 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

Kohli came into bat after the culmination of an imperious 143-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.

The Delhi-born batter paced his innings to perfection, switching gears at the right time over the course of the record innings. He overtook Sachin Tendulkar for the most number of hundreds scored by an Indian batter against Sri Lanka as well.

Luck played a role in his innings as well after he was dropped on two occasions after reaching his fifty by Kusal Mendis and Dasun Shanaka. He made the most of the dropped chances by playing playing a cracking knock of 113 runs off 87 deliveries. The ace batter eventually perished in the penultimate over to a slower delivery by Kasun Rajitha.

Speaking to the broadcaster during the mid-innings break, Kohli said:

"Not bad, I've had a bit of a break. Couple of practice sessions before this. I was mentally fresh after the Bangladesh tour where things didn't go as well as I would have liked. I just wanted to go at my own pace and be positive from the outset. I had to bat through until the end."

Thanking god for the dropped catches by Sri Lanka over the course of his innings, Kohli added:

"I would take those any day. Luck plays a big part. You just bow your head down and thank God on these kind of evenings. You tend to get frustrated when it doesn't go your way but it's important to remember these things as well. I could have got out for 50 odd. I'm just grateful and thankful that I was blessed with a little bit of luck today."

Kohli was supported by cameos from the batters around him, namely Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Hardik Pandya, as he went about his knock to help India cross the 350-run mark.

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"I think the diet is the most important part for me at my age" - Virat Kohli

Scoring consecutive ODI hundreds, Kohli did not look winded, especially during the latter portion of his knock. He was still eager to run the two's to keep the strike and carry on with the momentum, especially with India playing with a batter short.

Shedding importance to the diet and discipline at his age that helped him play a huge knock and carry the bat over the course of the majority of 50 overs, Kohli said:

"I think the diet is the most important part for me at my age. It's about making sure you have the right nutrition, not just the weight and the fat percentage but being in control of what you eat. It allows me to put my best foot forward and give my 100 per cent for the team."

Recalling the ODI contest against the West Indies in 2018 at the same venue, where he and Rohit Sharma scored centuries to help India scale down a 323-run target with eight overs to spare on the back of heavy dew, Kohli stated:

"It's important that we got 20-25 runs extra over 350. I think it was 330 odd that we were chasing (here in 2018) so we had to get those 40-45 runs extra. I remember Rohit batted through the innings that day.

"Someone will have to get a 150 and a 140 to chase this down. It's also good for the bowlers to practice in these conditions, what areas you want to bowl with the dew. It'll also give them confidence on how to bowl with the dew for a lesser score than today."

The Indian bowling attack, comprising three seamers, two spinners, and Hardik Pandya as the sixth option, will be tasked with defending the target amid dew to help the hosts claim a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Will Team India be able to defend the score and claim an early lead in the three-match affair? Let us know what you think.

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