The best of Virat Kohli - top 5 innings in ODI cricket so far

3. 107 vs Sri Lanka (4th ODI, Kolkata, December 2009)

Virat Kohli’s maiden century helped India chase 316 in the cauldron of Eden Gardens

Now this is an innings that the Delhi youngster will remember for the rest of his life. It came when India were once again chasing a huge target against Sri Lanka.

Bolstered by wayward bowling from Ishant Sharma during their innings, southpaws Upul Tharanga and skipper Kumar Sangakkara plundered runs at will, with the former scoring 118. Jayawardene and Thisara Perera played brilliant cameos towards the end to steer their side to an imposing 315 /6.

Yet again, Sehwag and Sachin fell without troubling the opposition bowlers too much, with Suranga Lakmal accounting for both batsmen.

At 23/2, the Delhi duo of Kohli and Gambhir joined hands for what turned out to be a walk-in-the-park chase for the home side. Kohli, in particular, unleashed his trademark flicks to the leg side, punctuated by back-foot punches and sublime drives.

Throughout his innings, there was always that element of risk attributed to his constant shuffling across the stumps; however, he managed to bring his bat down on time on each instance.

Only once did he offer a chance – on 88 – but for the most part, he kept rotating the strike; this hampered both the pacers and the spinners, and the glistening dew on the field did not help them either.

Kohli reached his maiden century with a single, and with four fielders inside the circle. He perished later, trying to end the game quickly, having already hit a six before. India cruised to the target without losing further wickets.