Last Updated on 8 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
Another day, another glittering Virat Kohli hundred to seal an ODI chase for India. As Kohli hammered a glorious 88-ball 139* against West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram, he became just the second batsman in history – along with Sachin Tendulkar – to reach 15,000 ODI runs.
Kohli, widely considered the greatest-ever batter in this format, reached the landmark in 303 innings, a remarkable 74 fewer than Tendulkar. He hit ten fours and nine sixes as he and Shubman Gill (110) combined for 150 runs to enable India to reach the 297-run target with a mammoth 50 balls to spare.
Shubman Gill on Virat Kohli after stalwart crosses 15,000 ODI runs
Speaking after the match, captain Gill said Kohli is playing with freedom. That, along with Kohli’s desire to perform in next year’s World Cup, augurs well for India.
“He is enjoying the game a lot more, playing with freedom and enjoying the game, and those are the effects on his batting. He always had the game, he always had the ability to clear the boundary at will, and I think he’s doing that right now,” Gill said, as quoted by NDTV Sports.
“Someone like him, who has won so many matches for the country and done it over and over again, you just let him be, and you just want him to play however he feels like on the day because, when he plays well, he can win matches for you,” the Indian captain added.
Kohli’s century on Sunday was his 55th in ODIs, six more than Tendulkar who batted 452 times in the format. There were concerns last year as to how much he had left in the tank, but those question marks have well and truly been answered.
Earlier in the day, Kuldeep Yadav’s 4/40 put the brakes on the West Indies who started strongly. Justin Greaves (101) and John Campbell (62) put on 135 in 19.2 overs for the opening wicket, but managed just 160 in the remaining 30.4 overs.
