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Virat Kohli scores his 21st ton at home as India recorded the biggest margin of victory in the men’s ODI
From the beginning, Virat Kohli was destined to chase the greatness of Sachin Tendulkar. However, a tough phase appeared to have put a question mark on his destiny.
The pressure of captaincy appeared to have taken its toll – ironically just like Tendulkar.
But ‘King’ Kohli seems to be back. He may not be back with a bang and he may not be determined to chase the destiny the world has charted for him.
But Kohli is surely back on the path as he slammed his 21st ODI ton at home, which not only helped India post a mammoth total against a hapless Sri Lanka but also helped the former India skipper surpass Tendulkar’s record of 20 ODI tons.
Kohli’s hundred also broke Tendulkar’s record for most hundreds against one single opponent. Kohli now has 10 ODI centuries against Sri Lanka. Tendulkar had nine against Australia, while Kohli too had nine ODI tons against the West Indies.
At Thiruvananthapuram, Kohli edged closer to Tendulkar’s record of most tons as his 46th ton helped India post a mammoth 390 for five from 50 overs.
A 95-run opening stand between skipper Rohit Sharma (42, 49b, 2×4, 3×6) and Shubman Gill set the ball rolling for India.
Gill (116, 97b, 14×4, 2×6) and Kohli (166*, 110b, 13×4, 8×6) then took the win out of Lankan sail with a 131-run second wicket stand.
A 108-run third wicket stand between Kohli and Shreyas Iyer (38, 32b, 2×4, 1×6) only added fuel to the fire as India posted 390 for five.
While Kohli is now just three behind Tendulkar’s record of 49 tons, the Delhi batsman now sits fifth on the list of all-time ODI run scorers with 12,754 runs.
Left with a mountain to climb, Sri Lanka just succumbed under pressure as they were bundled out for just 73 to give India a massive 317-run win. It is the biggest margin of victory in the history of men’s ODI wickets.
While Kohli, understandably, declared player of the match, it was Mohmmad Siraj who gained confidence as his four-wicket haul spelled doom for the Lankans. Mohammad Shami and Kuldeep Yadav did not disappoint as they picked two wickets each while Lankans lost two wickets to run outs.
BRIEF SCORE: India 390/5 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 166*, Shubman Gill 116; Kasun Rajitha 2/81, Lahiru Kumara 2/87) beat Sri Lanka 73 in 22 overs (Nuwanidu Fernando 19; Mohammed Siraj 4/32, Kuldeep Yadav 2/16, Mohammed Shami 2/20) by 317 runs.
