Fans bowed down to Virat Kohli as the talismanic batter had a wonderful day at the office with the bat in India's World Cup opener against Australia on Sunday.
During his 85-run knock at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Virat Kohli also broke numerous records, including going past Sachin Tendulkar's tally in successful run chases.
Virat Kohli overhauled Sri Lanka batting great Kumar Sangakkara's tally of most 50+ scores as a non-opener in ODIs. With his fifty against Australia, the former India captain has 113 such scores. Kumar Sangakkara made 112 fifty-plus scores in 359 knocks in 50-over cricket.
Besides, Virat Kohli became the fastest to score 15,000 international runs in Asia.
Virat Kohli steadied the ship with his 116-ball 85 after India was reeling at 3/2 before comfortably hauling the 200-run target set by the Australians.
His 85-run knock ensured that he toppled Sachin Tendulkar from the perch of players with the most runs in successful run-chases in ODIs.
At present, Virat Kohli's tally in India's wins while chasing in the 50-over format reads 5,517 runs in 92 innings at a stunning average of 88.98.
Sachin Tendulkar ended his illustrious career with 5,490 runs in 124 innings in successful run chases.
Virat Kohli also broke Sachin Tendulkar's long-standing record in white-ball ICC events.
During his masterful innings against Australia, Virat Kohli surpassed his idol Sachin Tendulkar, who has 2,719 runs in ICC ODI and T20I tournaments.
While Sachin Tendulkar's 2,719 runs came in 61 games, Virat Kohli accomplished the feat in his 67th contest.
But Virat Kohli has a far healthier average in 50 and 20 overs ICC games than Sachin Tendulkar. Virat Kohli has made his runs in ICC white-ball events at a stunning average of 65.23, featuring two tons and 25 fifties. On the other hand, Sachin Tendulkar's average in similar events stands at 52.28, including seven tons and 16 half-centuries.
Virat Kohli has amassed his runs by competing in three different ICC events in white-ball cricket – ICC ODI World Cup, ICC ODI Champions Trophy, and ICC T20 World Cup. But Sachin Tendulkar never got an opportunity to ply his trade in T20 World Cups, participating only in the Champions Trophy and ODI World Cup.
Current India skipper Rohit Sharma, 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh, former captain Sourav Ganguly, the legendary MS Dhoni, and batting stalwart Rahul Dravid follow Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar for most runs by an Indian in white-ball ICC competitions.
Rohit Sharma has accumulated 2,422 runs at a healthy average of 46.19 in ICC limited-over tournaments, while Yuvraj Singh has collected 1,707 runs at an average of 34.77 in such events. Sourav Ganguly has made 1,671 runs, MS Dhoni has smashed 1,492 runs, and Rahul Dravid has amassed 1,487 runs in white-ball ICC tournaments.
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Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first. However, it was the only thing that went right for the Kangaroos. Otherwise, it was a forgettable day for the five-time World Cup champions.
On a spinning track at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the Indian spinners, led by a highly accurate Ravindra Jadeja, strangled the Australian batters so much that they could only put 199 on the scoreboard.
Except for David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and a small cameo from Mitchell Starc during the concluding stages of their essay, none of the other Australian batters got going.
Ravindra Jadeja was immaculate with his line and length as he gave nothing away. Along with his spin partners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja frustrated the Australian batters with their accuracy.
In particular, Ravindra Jadeja was lethal on the Chennai pitch, ending the match with excellent figures of 3/28, including the wickets of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Alex Carey.
In reply, India was tottering at 3/2 with captain Rohit Sharma, opener Ishan Kishan, and No.4 Shreyas Iyer all back in the hut without troubling the scorers.
With India in a deep hole, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul stitched a match-winning 165-run partnership with his younger colleague.
Interestingly, the two batters played low-risk cricket, relying more on ones and twos to find a way past the trio of Australian pacers, including Josh Hazlewood.
Though chase-master Virat Kohli fell for 85 when he was nearing his 48th hundred in ODIs, KL Rahul ultimately hit the winning runs, finishing the contest with a six.
After India's win, KL Rahul credited his partnership with Virat Kohli for the positive result in Chennai.
“There weren't a lot of conversations with Kohli. I had just taken a shower and was hoping to put my feet up for half an hour after the fielding innings, but I had to come in. Virat said that I should play like Test cricket for a bit. Happy to play this for the team,” KL Rahul said in the post-match press conference.
“There was a bit of help for the fast bowlers early on. Towards the end, the dew played a bit of a part for them. It was still two-paced. It wasn't a great wicket to bat on, neither was it too difficult. I think it was a good cricket wicket, that's what you get in South of India especially in Chennai,” he added.
On asked why he wrapped up the match with a six, KL Rahul replied: “I hit it too well. I wanted to get a hundred by going four and six. Hopefully some other time I can get it.”
Even captain Rohit Sharma was in awe of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli's batting before revealing that he had his heart in his mouth when India was struggling at 3/2.
“Pretty exciting. Good feeling to come on top. At the start of the tournament, it was very good to win a game. We do take a lot of pride in the fielding. We fielded well despite the conditions being tough with a lot of heat. The bowlers did well, we knew there was a bit of help for the bowlers. Seamers did reverse. Spinners also had good assistance, and they did well to exploit it,” Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“I was nervous when we were 3/2, and why not? Because you never want to start an innings like that, especially when you chase such a target. Credit goes to Australia, but yeah, we did play a few loose shots. Then, Virat and KL Rahul batted brilliantly, and the partnership took us safely to the end. Hats off to them, it was a match-winning partnership,” Rohit Sharma elaborated.
“Adapting to the respective conditions is a bigger challenge as we will play on different surfaces and conditions. We may have to change our combinations and the team is ready for it,” the India captain concluded.