Since the Asia Cup last year, Virat Kohli has been playing better than ever. He led all scorers in the T20 World Cup, which was played in Australia. The talented batsman hit back-to-back hundreds in the ODI format with a century in the opening match against Sri Lanka. He had previously defeated Bangladesh by scoring a century. As India scored 373 for seven in 50 overs in the first ODI, Kohli smashed 113 runs off 87 balls, including 12 fours and a six. Umran Malik’s three-wicket haul in Guwahati helped India contain Sri Lanka to 306 for 8 in 50 overs.
The 34-year-old could only produce four runs in the second One-Day International against Sri Lanka, which India won by four wickets, failing to build on his strong performance. KL Rahul’s unbroken fifty-five helped the home team win the series in Kolkata. After the first ODI, former Pakistan player Kamran Akmal hailed Kohli for bagging 73 international centuries, backing it up by stating that modern-day cricketers can’t even imagine of scoring 45 tons across formats.
Speaking on YouTube, he said, “Nowadays, players can’t even imagine scoring 45 centuries across formats, but Virat Kohli has scored as many in a single format. He has scored 73 international tons so far. He definitely got chances, but he made the most of those chances.” “He had scored a century on this venue two-three years back, and now he has rediscovered his form by scoring another hundred. He performed in the World Cup and the Asia Cup. The runs haven’t dried up, which tells how important a player he is for India”, he further added.
Kohli received the Player of the Match in the first ODI. After receiving the award, he spoke about his template coming in to bat. “My preparation and intent always remain the same. I thought I was hitting the ball nicely. It was close to the template I play with, I understood we needed an extra 25-30 runs. I tried to understand the conditions in the second half. Tried to get a comfortable total for us on the board. The one thing I learnt was desperation doesn’t get you anywhere. You do not need to complicate things. You go out there and play without any fear, I can’t hold on to things”, he said. “You have to play for the right reasons and almost play every game like it’s your last and just be happy about it. The game is going to move on. I am not going to play forever, I am in a happy space and enjoying my time playing”, he further added.