It’s No 77 for Virat Kohli. The King returned to his kingdom, R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo to achieve a big feat. He slammed his 4th consecutive century at his happy hunting ground in the India vs Pakistan (IND vs PAK) Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 clash. With that, he brought up his 77th international century and 47th ODI ton.
Before the IND vs PAK clash, Virat Kohli had notched up 128*, 131 and 110* in his last three ODI outings at the R Premadasa Stadium. Similarly, in his last T20I at the venue, Kohli slammed 54-ball 82 back in 2017. With another ton, Virat Kohli moves another step closer to Sachin Tendulkar (100) in Most International Centuries list.
After failing to fire against Pakistan’s pace battery, Virat Kohli now has a chance to redeem himself at his happy hunting ground. India will take on Pakistan in Round 2 of Asia Cup 2023.
Virat Kohli at R Premadasa Stadium
| Format | Mat | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODI | 8 | 519 | 131 | 103.8 | 94.7 | 3 | 1 |
| T20I | 6 | 267 | 82 | 53.4 | 130.24 | 0 | 3 |
Virat Kohli finds his groove
Like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli also came to Sri Lanka a little undercooked. And as a result, he lasted just 7 balls, scoring a boundary. But before he could get going against famed NHS (Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi), he inside-edged a Shaheen Afridi delivery to his stumps.
But with India needing to win against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 encounter to make things easier to reach the final, Kohli will bank on his expertise on the pitch. With World Cup 2023 approaching, Kohli needs to get back in his groove.
So far, this year, he has been in fine form. He has notched up two centuries against Sri Lanka and a fifty against Australia, averaging 47.88.
NHS threat nullified
Virat Kohli’s biggest threat was the famed Pakistan pace trio. Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, and Shaheen Afridi had combined picked up 24 wickets. They were too hot to handle for Indian batters in the league stage game. The NHS Express took all 10 wickets.
But Virat Kohli punished Afirdi and Naseem with Haris Rauf missing out on the Reserve Day with a side injury. Virat Kohli won the battle once again after he scored a match-winning 82 against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup.
Virat Kohli averages 45.00 against Pakistan in ODIs with two centuries and as many half-centuries. In T20s, he has an average of 81.33 with five half-centuries in 10 innings. Hence, King Kohli will be confident of unleashing his array of shots at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday in Colombo.
