“Wanted to make a big contribution,” said star India batter Virat Kohli after his match-winning ton against Bangladesh in their ICC Cricket World Cup match here on Thursday. It was ‘King Kohli’ special at Pune’s MCA Stadium as India beat Bangladesh by seven wickets. Virat Kohli brought up his 48th ODI ton, 78th international century and 26,000 international runs, causing some movement in cricket record books. This is also his first WC century since 2015 and overall third.
“Sorry for stealing it (the Player of the Match award) from Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja). I wanted to make a big contribution. Have made fifties in World Cups, wanted to finish it off this time. (Free hits to start off) I was telling Shubman that even if you dream about this situation, you go back to sleep. It was a dream start. It just calms you down. The pitch was good and allowed me to play my game – hit the gaps and find the boundaries whenever I could. Great atmosphere in the dressing room. The spirit is there for everyone to see. You need to create some momentum in the changing room to come out and play like this. Special feeling to play in front of such crowds,” said Virat Kohli in a post-match presentation.
Coming to the match, Bangladesh opted to bat first and there was a 91-run opening stand between Tanzid Hasan (51 in 43 balls with four boundaries and three sixes) and Litton Das (66 in 82 balls, with seven fours). Following that, Bangladesh kept losing wickets at regular intervals, though important knocks came from Mahmudullah (46 in 36 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim (38 in 46 balls, with a four and six) that took Bangladesh to 256/8 in 50 overs. India needs 257 to win their fourth successive game.
Ravindra Jadeja (2/38) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/41) were the pick of the bowlers for India. Mohammed Siraj took two wickets as well while Kuldeep Yadav and Shardul Thakur got one each. In the chase of 257, skipper Rohit Sharma (48 in 40 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Shubman Gill (53 in 55 balls with five fours and two sixes) decided the outcome with their partnership itself. Virat Kohli’s century and partnership with KL Rahul (34*), which saw some entertaining running between the wickets was an icing on the cake.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz took two wickets for Bangladesh and was the pick of the bowlers. With four wins in four matches, India is in the second spot in the points table with eight points. New Zealand is at the top with a better net-run-rate. Bangladesh is in the seventh spot with one win and three losses.
Virat became the ‘Man of the Match’ for his ton.
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