IND vs SA | Twitter bows to King Kohli supremacy as emperor strikes back with sensational ton

Gantavya Adukia

ByGantavya Adukia,SportsCafe Editor

87

Even in a game as obsessed with numbers as cricket, end of the day what people will remember is how you made them feel. Fortunately for Virat Kohli, his numbers are as wondrous as his presence, and all of it culminated into the perfect storm of elegant destruction against South Africa in Ranchi.

Virat Kohli scored his 52nd ODI ton for India against South Africa in Ranchi on Sunday

India were asked to bat first in the first ODI on a docile JSCA Stadium deck against South Africa and the Men in Blue capitalized by posting a 300-plus total. Rohit Sharma led the charge from the word go with a rapid 57 but the lynchpin for India's efforts, as has been the case for nearly a decade and a half in the format, was former skipper and still talisman Virat Kohli. The 36-year-old ran the opposition ragged even as the pitch wore down to make run scoring more difficult, with KL Rahul the only other batter apart from Rohit to surpass 25.

Kohli walked out as early as the fourth over with intent brimming in his eyes as he set about taking advantage of the powerplay. A first-ball edge for boundary spurred an onslaught uncharacteristic of the man as he outpaced the ever-more epxlosive Rohit with a streak of boundaries, each one more elegant than the other. A trademark straight drive down the ground were followed by two maximums over the bowler's head, with square drives and wristy flicks to boost. By the end of the powerplay, the talisman had already surpassed 30 of which just six runs came through running followed by a brief lull. However, soon enough the 36-year-old burst into life again with an effortless flick for maimum to bring up a 48-ball half-century, followed by helping the ensuing bumper over third man for his fourth six of the innings. The introduction of spin did not improve matters as Kohli pranced down the 22-yard strip to launch Prenelan Subrayen over long-on, and another boundary a couple of overs later meant Kohli was in the 80s in the blink of an eye. However, wickets began to tumble quickly around him as the Proteas fought back but the experienced campaigner remained measured in his approach as he ticked along into the 90s. The noise in the arena continously ascended the closer Kohli got to the landmark three-figure mark, and the anticipation was palpable when he remained a run away. A couple nervy moments followed before Kohli expertly opened the face of his bat to guide a length delivery past third-man for four and leapt up with a roar to the crescendoing cheers, marking his 52nd ODI ton in style. The veteran completed all the formalities of taking off his helmet and kissing his wedding ring but the crowd refused to die down, even as Kohli avoided a pitch invader and turned to all corners of the ground to acknowledge the unbelievable cacophony of love.

Increedulously, Kohli only brought out his best after the century with four boundaries and two maximums in the space of seven balls to eventually end up with 135 off just 120 deliveries, adding yet another glorious chaoter to his Hall of Fame career.

King!

Century!

ODI Hundred!

83rd Century!

Moment!

Clsss!

King kohli!

Captain KL!

King is back!

GOAT!

laught0
astonishment0
sadness0
heart0
like0
dislike0

Comments

0/1000

Sign up or log in to your account to leave comments and reactions

0 Comments