4 times Virat Kohli scored an ODI century coming to bat at 0/1

The way he is scoring runs, making centuries for fun, chasing down totals with utter ease and creating one record after another, Virat Kohli seems to be batting in a parallel universe. No other batsman emanates the kind of class and comfort that Kohli exudes at the crease.

He has come out to bat in diverse match situations and has come out on top in the majority of them. Let us recollect four such innings when he had to bail India out from a situation wherein the opening batsman had gone back to the pavilion without the team getting off the mark.

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#1 183 vs Pakistan, Mirpur, February 18, 2012

His celebration showcased how much he valued the achievement

In a crunch Asia Cup encounter, a do-or-die match for the Indian side that was coming off a defeat to hosts Bangladesh, India locked horns with arch-rivals Pakistan. Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and elected to bat.

Openers Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed started off sedately before their flurry of boundaries started frustrating the Indian camp. The fact that Sachin Tendulkar had to be called to roll his arm over was evidence enough that the Indians had found it seemingly tough to break the opening stand which finally got broken for 224.

But this was not before both openers had completed their respective centuries and laid a perfect platform for the middle order to launch an attack from. With notable contributions from Younis Khan and Umar Akmal, Pakistan ended with a mammoth 329 on the board.

Set out to achieve their record chase to win an ODI, Indians got off to the worst possible start as Hafeez accounted for Gautam Gambhir with just his second delivery. 330 to get and out came Virat Kohli, who had scores of 133*, 108 and 66 preceding this match.

The pressure of a huge run chase in a must-win encounter and the nerves of an India-Pakistan match were major things that he had to cope up with apart from the penetrative Pakistan bowling attack. Though he was still strengthening his position as a dependable number 3 in the batting order, the then newly appointed vice-captain negated the new ball and played himself in beautifully.

He never let the asking rate go out of bounds and kept hitting the bad balls for boundaries. Tendulkar departed after a 133 run stand but incoming batsman Rohit Sharma gave him good company as the duo pocketed the match for their team. While the latter complied a gritty 68, Kohli decimated Pakistan’s potent bowling attack to all parts of the ground as he clinched his third century in four games, celebrating the milestone in an identifiable animated manner.

Before going back to the pavilion, Kohli’s 148-ball 183, his highest score in ODI’s till date, was not just enough to ensure that India remained alive in the competition, but also that the world was witnessing a modern batting master take giant strides in international cricket.

#2 160* vs South Africa, Cape Town, February 7, 2018

Simply acknowledging the appreciative crowd has taken over his over the top celebrations of the past

Stand-in skipper Aiden Markram won the toss and invited the Indians to bat first amidst torrid conditions as Cape Town was zeroing towards the Zero Day which would mean a drought condition in the major South African city. Ironically, the city became witness to a flood of runs by the Indian skipper who ended up playing one of the better knocks of his career.

Kagiso Rabada got rid of Rohit Sharma in the first over and Kohli walked in to accompany an aggressive Shikhar Dhawan. After surviving a scare when he was yet to get off the mark, Kohli got into the groove by playing some eye-catching drives.

As Dhawan attacked from one end, the skipper accumulated from the other. The Proteas managed to pick up wickets in the middle overs and squeeze the scoring rate but what they could not do was see the back of the batting master.

Hardly does anyone else pace an innings as well as Virat Kohli does and this quality of his was on full display in this innings in which is upped the ante at just the right moment. Amidst hot conditions, he ran 100 of his 160 runs, a testament to his fitness levels and justification to the parameters he sets for his teammates.

With 14 hits to the fence, two of which landed across the rope, Kohli ensured that his 34th ODI hundred was a daddy one as India inched past 300 in their quota of overs.

While defending the total, Kohli’s ever dependable wrist spin duo of Chahal and Kuldeep spun a web around the home team as they picked up 8 wickets between them and India went on to win the match by a mammoth 124 runs.

Also Read: https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/kiplingesque-kohli-a-tribute-to-the-phenomenon-that-continues-to-grow-virat-kohli-south-africa-india-2018

#3 118 vs Australia, Visakhapatnam, October 20, 2010

This innings cemented his position in the squad for the World Cup of 2011

Put into bat by MS Dhoni, Australia, on the back of a patient century from captain Michael Clarke and a scintillating unbeaten 89 by Cameron White set India a challenging 290 total on the board.

While chasing a big total, the last thing a team wants is a wicket to fall with no runs on the scoreboard. Shikhar Dhawan, batting on ODI debut, put India into just that position when he walked back after being bowled by a Clint McKay delivery for nought.

With top order mainstays Sehwag, Tendulkar and Gambhir being rested, this was 21-year-old Kohli’s shot at redemption as he was running out of opportunities to make a strong case for his position in the side before the upcoming World Cup in the Indian sub-continent.

After having lost both their openers for 35, India were in a spot of bother when Yuvraj joined Virat in the middle. The duo played themselves in, playing risk-free cricket as they ran hard for whatever came their way. Kohli, especially, did not let the asking rate to mount over seven as he built a 137 run partnership with the southpaw.

After Yuvraj’s exit, the aggressive Raina joined forces with a cramped up Virat Kohli as the partnership (84 off just 58 balls) brought India well within reach of victory.

Kohli, availing the services of a runner, brought up his century with a couple before going bonkers after the bowling, only to lose his wicket on 118 with his team just 34 runs away from victory. Man of the Match Virat’s innings, that had 11 hits to the fence and one over it, went a long way in cementing his place in the ODI side.

Also Read: https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/5-crucial-losses-proved-turning-points-virat-kohli-career

#4 128* vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, July 31, 2012

Virat Kohli was awarded the ICC ODI Cricketer of the year in 2012

Sri Lanka, who won the toss, chose to bat on a batting friendly Premadasa wicket, in pursuit of levelling the 5 match ODI series that India led 2-1. After a good solid start by openers Tharanga and Dilshan, the hosts lost their way as they slumped from 91/0 to 190/5.

A late flurry by Malinga and Herath ensured they breached the 250-run mark as Manoj Tiwary played the wrecker-in-chief, picking up career-best figures of 4-61.

With a third straight bilateral series win in the Emerald Island in sight, India got off to a horror start as Malinga accounted for Gautam Gambhir with just the fifth ball of the innings. Virat Kohli joined senior partner Virender Sehwag at the crease.

Kohli, still in his early days of mastering the art of chasing, played the perfect sheet anchor role. He got himself in, nudging the ball for singles and doubles, while Sehwag took the attack to the opposition. He then started upping the ante with Tiwary at the other end before carefully taking India within striking distance of victory with Suresh Raina.

It was pretty much a one-man show after he got past the three-figure mark as Kohli completed yet another successful run chase and went back unbeaten. His perfectly grafted Man of the Match innings included 12 fours and a six as India won the series comprehensively.