Virat Kohli is arguably one of the top rated cricketers in the world right now. With 23,159 runs to his name, Kohli is the seventh all-time highest run scorers in international cricket and the third in terms of international centuries, with 70, only behind Sachin Tendulkar (100) and Ricky Ponting (71).
Though there is a recent dip in his form, with the batter failing to score a single century in the last two years, the Indian skipper still continues to be one of the best in the world. On the occassion of his 33rd birthday, let us take a look at five knocks that helped 'King Kohli' join the club of best batters.
1) 133* vs Sri Lanka (Hobart, 2012): Following a disastrous 0-4 loss in the Test series, and a mediocre tri-series performance, Kohli came out with a massive knock of 133 off just 86 balls against Sri Lanka in the Commonwealth Bank Series. Having scored eight centuries prior to the match, Kohli's innings helped India chase down 321 in just 37 overs. In what is one of the best ever batting performances, Kohli scored 24 runs in an over against yorker specialist Lasith Malinga, a player in his prime back then.
2) 183 vs Pakistan (Dhaka, 2012): Just months after the tri-series in Australia, Kohli again played a massive knock against Pakistan in that year's Asia Cup. With having to chase down a target of 330, Kohli stepped up to the occassion, after India lost its opening batter Gautam Gambhir for a duck. Though it started out slow initially, Kohli went on to hit 22 fours and a six to score 183 of 148 balls, his highest score in ODI cricket. Half centuries from Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma helped India seal the win with 2 overs in hand.
3) 82* vs Australia (Mohali, 2016): The only T20 match on the list, Kohli's fabulous knock against Australia in the Super 10 match of the 6th edition has been named the ‘Greatest Moments’ in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup history. India started the innings slow, having lost 3 wickets for 49 and chasing a target of 161. Kohli along with Yuvraj Singh stepped up to the occassion, building a partnership of 45, when Yuvraj was caught by Watson to Faulkner's delivery. Following his dismissal, Kohli played an impressive innings. Kolhi, who was already labelled as the 'Master of the Chase', built an impressive partnership alongside the then Indian cricket team captain, MS Dhoni. Kohli continued to dominate the contest as he reached his fifty in 39 deliveries, with India then requiring 45 runs in 21 balls. Kohli hit Faulkner for 19 runs and in the 19th over, he clattered Nathan Coulter-Night for four boundaries, bringing the equation down to four needed off the final over. He sealed India’s spot in the semi-finals in the next over with another boundary. Though West Indies later went on to lift the trophy, he was named the Man of the Series, scoring 273 in 5 matches.
4) 149 vs England (Birmingham, 2018): Following a disastrous 2014 tour to England, Kohli picked up form and rose to life. He scored 149 off 225 balls in the first innings of the first Test, though it went in vain as England won the match by 31 runs. Kohli however, finished the Test series with 593 runs, with an average of 59.30. He went on to score another half century in the following innings, scoring 51 of 93. This was also the series where he reunited with his arch-nemesis, James Anderson. However, Kohli's impressive knock was not enough to pull India back, as every other batter failed to go past 26, which resulted in the team losing the series 1-4.
5) 115 and 141 vs Australia (Adelaide, 2014): Following the then skipper M S Dhoni's finger injury, the captaincy torch was passed on to Kohli. Kohli managed to score a twin centuries in the first of the three match series in Adelaide. He went on to score 115 off 184 balls in the first innings, helping India manage to get a total of 441 against Australia's 517. The second innings saw the skipper hit 141 off 175 balls, which took the total to 315. Though the captain played two impressive innings, it was overshadowed by Nathan Lyon, who produced a bowling masterclass in the second innings, grabbing 7 wickets, in what turned out to be one of India's worst batting collapses.
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