Picture : BCCI/X
Superstar Virat Kohli’s supreme fitness was evident in his 47th ODI century while comeback man KL Rahul produced an equally engaging ton on comeback as India thrashed a listless Pakistan by record 228-run margin in a rain-marred Super Four game of the Asia Cup in Colombo.
India posted an imposing 356 for 2, as Kohli (122 not out off 94 balls) and Rahul (111 not out off 106 balls), which was his sixth ODI hundred, pummelled a hapless Pakistan, whose chase ended at 128 for 8 as Kuldeep Yadav (5/25) scythed through them.
The imperious Kohli now stands just two behind Sachin Tendulkar’s record 49. Once India restarted the day from 147 for 2 in 24.1 overs, they needed Kohli and Rahul, the two overnight batters, to go big, and they did that in some style. The 233 run unbeaten third wicket partnership was a stunning record.
On way to his 77th international century, King Kohli also added some personal milestones to an already long list, becoming the fastest batsman to 13000 ODI runs and scoring his fourth ton in as many innings at the R Premadasa Stadium.
Kohli is only the second batter to achieve the feat of scoring four successive hundreds at a venue after South Africa’s Hashim Amla, who made this sequence at Centurion.
However, Rahul’s hundred was equally important from a team’s perspective.
Pakistan were never in the hunt, losing wickets at regular intervals and Kuldeep ending the match with a five-wicket haul to have Pakistan all out for 128. Kuldeep takes a fifer!
Pakistan’s Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf won’t come out to bat, so that is that for Pakistan and they wrap up at 128 for 8.
