http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Virat-Kohli-c95424’s match winning innings for India
A brilliant century by Australian captain Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 was overshadowed by Virat Kohli’s splendid innings at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA stadium on Wednesday.
The relatively newly built ground in Visakhapatnam is indeed lucky for the Indians as they recorded their third victory on this ground.
Virat Kohli made his career best 118 off 121 balls along with the support of Yuvraj Singh’s modest 58 and Suresh Raina’s 71 not out. Chasing a stupendous target of 290, the Indian side claimed a five-wicket victory in 48.5 overs.
India had a stumbling start that saw debutant opener http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 and his squad.
V. Kohli came next as he faced an uphill task in front of him and he needed to dig in deep to save his team. The partnership between Kohli and Singh provided hope to the Indians as they shared 137 runs off 152 balls. The two had an unprecedented confidence
about them as they teamed up against the inexperienced bowling attack of the Australians.
Even though Singh was dismissed in the 34th over with 118 runs still to chase, he showed great composure and did not let the pressure put him down. By then, Man-of-the-Match Kohli experienced severe cramps in his legs and was forced to bat with
a runner but he reached his third career ODI century and opted to support Raina, who made sure http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 finish the game on a high.
Indian captain Dhoni heaped praises for the batting department, saying that India had a mammoth task and without the partnership of the three key players, the victory would have not been possible.
In the past, Kohli did have a tendency to squander away starts. Dhoni added, “He (Kohli) has been often criticized for giving away good starts and he batted perfectly today”.
Kohli is often described as a level- headed and mature cricketer. He made his first-class debut in the 2006-2007 Ranji Trophy for Delhi and was named captain of the Under 19 (U-19) squad for the World Cup in 2008. He led his U-19 team to an unbeaten campaign
in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Malaysia-c2949 and brought home the second U-19 World Cup.
The 21 year-old Kohli stood out for his calm approach. The absence of senior players provided Kohli with an opportunity early in his career as he now moved ahead of Rohit Sharma in the pecking order.
The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 youngster later admitted he was under pressure and despite the splendid innings he is still has a long way to go. He said after the match, “I don’t believe I have cemented my place in the team. I have to keep on performing consistently in the matches
to come. Maybe, later in the future I can think if my place is permanent or not”.
He commented about his struggle with the cramps, “I just wanted to drag the game as much as I could to put my team in a winning position”.
His best effort in the Asia Cup and the triangular series in Sri Lanka was 37, he responded about his form that he was “struggling to get runs” as he had not scored in the last six or seven matches.
This is his third ODI century but this score was his best century yet, having scored 107 not out against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 in 2010.
This was indeed a special night for Kohli as he proved himself in the home series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 that also serves as a selection trial for the World Cup next year. The youngster definitely managed to solidify his credentials with the support of his team
mates.
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