Virat Kohli has come a long way from the teenager who lifted the Under-19 World Cup as captain in 2008. Kohli, who turned 26 yesterday, has already played a valuable hand in a World Cup final (2011), was part of a ICC Champions Trophy title winning sqaud (2013), and has a Player of the Tournament award from a World T20 (2014). Quite enviable for any cricketer, isn’t it?He has also equalled Viv Richards’ record, becoming the fastest to reach 5000 ODI runs along with the original Master Blaster. The batsman has 20 ODI tons to his name already, and is the leading run-scorer in T20Is for India. With potentially another 10 years of international cricket left in him, let us wish for many such moments from the talented, hard-working cricketer.Here, let us recall some of Kohli’s memorable innings which were the defining moments of his career:
#1 116 v Australia, Adelaide, 2012
Virat Kohli had been labelled a limited overs specialist then by critics. Three non-impressive Tests Down Under, barring the hard fought 75 and a couple of back-to-back fifties against West Indies at home is all that the Delhi lad had to show for his credentials. And then came Adelaide.
When the critics asked for Rohit Sharma’s inclusion in place of Kohli, Dhoni persisted with the former Under-19 captain. Australia posted a mammoth 604 with Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke scoring double centuries and by then India were starting at a 4-0 whitewash.
Entering the crease at 87/4, Kohli was the last man to be dismissed after smashing his first ton for India in whites. Apart from selection worries and below par performances, the player had some seriously mental pressure to overcome. Kohli was in the news already for showing dissent to the crowd who verbally targeted him while he was fielding near the boundary at Sydney. The innings gave him a new lease of life and the star was then completely discovered.
#2 133* v Sri Lanka, Hobart, 2012
133* off just 86 balls in a 300+ run chase: That is exacly what Virat Kohli did against Sri Lanka in Hobart, 2012. And most importantly, India had to acheive the target of 321 inside 40 overs to keep their chances alive in the tri-nation tournament, which followed after India were whitewashed 4-0 by the Aussies.
After a strong platform laid out by openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli came to the crease at 86/2 in the 10th over and went at about run-a-ball until his half century which came off 46 balls. From then onwards, there was no stopping Kohli, who unleashed a plethora of strokes all around the ground. Notably, Lasith Malinga, the leading limited overs bowler in world cricket, was ripped apart for 24 runs off one over after Kohli had thrashed Nuwan Kulasekara to a hat-trick of boundaries earlier.
His innings was more like a highlight package where he was timing his drives like a dream. No combination of superlatives can describe the ease with which Kohli was accumulating the runs in what was supposed to be a difficult run chase against a potent bowling attack. Gautam Gambhir’s 63(64) and Suresh Raina’s 40*(24) almost went unnoticed in the storm created by Kohli’s magical innings which consisted of 16 fours and 2 sixes.
Kohli had already struck 8 hundreds in ODIs before this knock, but in terms of sheer domination and shock factor, this was by far the most memorable of the lot. If Adelaide was the coming of age knock for the Delhi lad, this innings marked the beginning of a dream run for Kohli which made him the premier ODI batsman in the world.
#3 183 v Pakistan, Dhaka, 2012
Yet another 300+ chase and yet another classic from Kohli’s blade. Notably, it was again a must win game as India had lost its previous match against Bangladesh in Asia Cup, 2012. Chasing 330 for victory, India lost Gautam Gambhir off the second ball in the first over.
Joining Sachin Tendulkar in the middle, Kolhi batted sensibly before switching gears. Just like Hobart, he paced his innings to perfection and accelerated at a time when the required run rate started to rise towards 7. The player unleashed hell on bowlers, taking them apart for 22 fours and a six overall. The prolific batsman equalled MS Dhoni’s record for the highest individual score in run chase, ending up with 183, falling only after getting India on the doorsteps of a memorable win.
Pakistan is the greatest litmus test that an Indian batsman goes through in the eyes of the general public, and Kohli’s match-winning knock catapulted his fan following to cult status.
#4 100* v Australia, Jaipur, 2013
What is common between 300+ run chases and Virat Kohli? He will score a hundred. It’s as simple as that and this time he went on to claim the Indian record for the fastest ODI ton. Against Australia in the 2nd match of the bilateral series at Jaipur, chasing 360, Kohli joined hands with Rohit Sharma (141* off 123) balls at 176/1 in the 27th over.
Taking the game forward with breathtaking shots, Kohli dominated bowlers at will and never slogged at all. Smashing 7 sixes and 8 fours with the help of purely text book shots, Kohli added a new chapter to his book of match winning tons.
India raced home in just 43.3 overs against George Bailey’s men levelling the series 1-1 (2). By the time this match ended, one thing was very clear; there was no record safe from the reach of Virat Kohli.
#5 119 v South Africa, Johannesburg, 2013
It was the first Test of the overseas series against the powerful South African side. India needed a good start after a couple of back to back whitewashes in England and Australia in 2011-12, and this was Kohli’s chance to prove that the Adelaide hundred was not a flash in a pan, and he was capable of notching good scores overseas in Tests too.
India were at a precarious position of 24/2 when Kohli helped himself to 119 in the first innings, guiding India to a decent score of 280 against the likes of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel.
The Indian showed great courage and was determind to fight it out. His runs came at a strike rate of 65.74 on a sportive Wanderers wicket. The batsman followed it up with a 96 in the second innings, that almost gave India a win against the home side.
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