Top 5 innings by Virat Kohli in a chase

In the simplest of words, Graphite and Diamonds are both carbon but a diamond is far more valuable than graphite and that’s because the diamond has to withstand years of intense pressure. Virat Kohli is like a diamond. He’s so valuable to the Indian team because of his ability to thrive under pressure.

Kohli’s composure in a run chase is second to none. After England set a world record score of 481 runs against the Aussies, Herschelle Gibbs tweeted that he would love to have seen Virat Kohli in the chase. Such is the expectation people place on the Indian captain.

In the second ODI at the Adelaide, Virat Kohli scored his 24th century in a run chase and incredibly, India has won 21 of those chases. Although Kohli couldn’t see out the match, it was up there among his best knocks in a run chase. However, was it good enough to make his top 5 innings in a chase?

Note - The list only features international matches.

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#5. 100 off 52 balls vs Australia, Jaipur, 2013

Kohli scored the fastest century by an Indian in ODIs

Australia is one of Kohli’s favourite oppositions. He has scored six of his 39 ODI centuries against them and five of them were in chases. The second century he scored against Australia was a record-breaking one.

The Aussies set India a target of 359 with their first five batsmen scoring fifties. In reply, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan got India off to a fantastic start and by the time Dhawan was dismissed in the first ball of the 26th over after scoring 95 off 86 balls, India had 176 runs on the board.

India had the time to comfortably chase the total down but Kohli wanted to go to bed early that night. Under the lights in Jaipur, he clobbered the Australian bowlers for eight fours and seven sixes.

He played only 52 balls and scored the fastest century by an Indian batsman surpassing Virender Sehwag’s record of a 60-ball ton against New Zealand from 2009.

India chased down the total with 39 balls to spare but Kohli was not named the man of the match. It was instead given to Rohit Sharma who scored 141 off 123 balls.

#4. 82* off 51 balls vs Australia, Mohali, World T20 2016

Kohli's knock helped India qualify for the semifinal

A vast majority of Kohli’s best knocks in a chase came in ODIs but he proved with India and in the IPL that he’s equally adept in the shortest format of the game.

In the final game of Group 2 of the 2016 ICC World Twenty20, India played Australia with both teams level on points and the winner of the game would qualify for the semifinal as the group’s runners-up behind New Zealand.

After winning the toss, Australia opted to bat first and scored 160 runs for the loss of six wickets in twenty overs. In reply, India stuttered to 37/2 at the end of the powerplay overs. It became 50/3 after eight overs with Kohli on 13 in 11 balls.

Kohli and Yuvraj Singh kept the score ticking but by the time the latter was dismissed, India still needed 67 runs from 36 balls on a difficult wicket. MS Dhoni and Kohli’s excellent running and timely boundaries helped India reach a stage where 39 runs were needed in the last three overs. Kohli had just reached his 50 at that point in 40 balls and was about to go ballistic.

In the 18th over bowled by James Faulker, Kohli hit a four, four and six off the first three balls to swing the momentum India’s way. In the next over, he hit four fours off Nathan Coulter-Nile which meant that India needed only four runs off the last over which Dhoni achieved off the very first ball.

Kohli’s well-paced knock won the game for India and also took the team to the semifinal of the World Cup.

#3. 183 off 148 balls vs Pakistan, Dhaka, Asia Cup 2012

The 183 Kohli scored against Pakistan is still his highest score in ODIs

Virat Kohli scored his highest ODI score against archrivals Pakistan during the 2012 Asia Cup in a must-win encounter.

India beat Sri Lanka in the first match but lost to hosts Bangladesh, therefore, they needed to beat Pakistan in the final match to have any hope of qualifying for the final with Bangladesh playing Sri Lanka in the final group stage match two days later.

After winning the toss, Pakistan opted to bat and set a target of 330 thanks to tons from Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed.

India got their chase off to a terrible start as Gautam Gambhir was dismissed for a duck in only the second ball of the innings. However, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli steadied the ship with a 133 run partnership before the former was dismissed for 52.

Kohli and Rohit Sharma put up a partnership of 172 runs for the third wicket of which, Kohli scored 103 runs in only 75 balls to virtually win the game. By the time Kohli was dismissed, India only needed twelve more runs with 17 balls to spare but India won the match with 13 balls left to play.

#2. 115* off 66 balls vs Australia, Nagpur, 2013

Kohli's century helped India level the seven-match series at 2-2

With Kohli in the side, Indians can be relaxed even when the target is well over 300. This particular inning was solid proof that Kohli can shift gears at will.

Australia was leading the seven-match ODI series 2-1 going into the sixth ODI in Nagpur after the fourth and fifth ODIs were washed out. India had to win the match to keep the series alive.

India won the toss and opted to bowl first and at 2-45, it looked like a good decision. However, centuries from Shane Watson and George Bailey helped the Aussies set a target of 351 runs.

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan scored 178 runs for the first wicket but India still needed 173 runs from 123 balls when Virat Kohli came to the crease. Kohli smashed an unbeaten 115 off only 66 balls and incredibly, he only hit one six but scored eighteen fours.

India chased down the target with three balls and six wickets to spare to level the series. They also won the seventh ODI to win the series and it was in the final ODI that Rohit Sharma scored 209 runs off 158 balls.

#1. 133* off 86 balls vs Sri Lanka, Hobart, CB Series 2012

India had to chase down the total in less than 40 overs to stay alive in the series

Sri Lanka is arguably Kohli’s favourite opposition in ODIs. He has scored eight centuries against the neighbours which is the most he has scored against any opposition. Even, his first ODI century was against Sri Lanka. However, it was his second century against the Lankans which will be remembered for years to come.

The match in question was India’s final group stage game of the Tri-Series featuring hosts Australia and Sri Lanka. India was facing elimination and needed to win their game with a bonus point and hope that the Aussies beat Sri Lanka in the final group stage game to have any chance of reaching the final.

Sri Lanka batted first and centuries from Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara helped them score 320 in their allotted 50 overs. India needed to chase down this total in 40 overs to earn the bonus point that would keep their hopes of playing Australia in the final alive.

Chasing the target, India lost Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar with 86 runs on the board after 9.2 overs. When Virat arrived at the crease to join Gambhir, India needed 235 runs in 184 balls which was a difficult task against a Sri Lankan bowling lineup which had Lasith Malinga at the peak of his powers. However, it was Malinga who was on the receiving end of Kohli’s beatdown.

In 8.4 overs, the Sri Lankan paceman conceded 96 runs of which 44 runs were scored by Kohli in only 14 balls which included 24 runs in just one over. In the end, Kohli’s spectacular innings helped India reach the target in only 36.4 overs.