“Some 95’s are greater than Century”- Virat Kohli stuns cricket world with masterclass to guide India to victory over New Zealand after 20 years in ICC event
Had Kohli scored his 49th century, he would have equaled Sachin Tendulkar's record of most tons in ODI cricket.
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Virat Kohli (Images via X)
The Indian cricket fans are bowing down to Virat Kohli because it took a masterclass from him to beat New Zealand for the first time in ICC events after a long gap of 20 years on Sunday (October 22) at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. But unfortunately, the talismanic batter missed his century by just five runs.
India got a target of 274 runs. And though the openers, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill gave the start they needed, their dismissals put India on the backfoot for a while.
India started losing wickets at regular intervals with Shreyas Iyer departing for 33 and KL Rahul on 27 runs. Suryakumar Yadav, who was playing his debut World Cup match, became a victim of run out after a mix-up with Kohli and departed for two runs.
Kohli stayed glued to the crease and steadily took India to a situation where losing seemed difficult. India needed five runs to win and Kohli also needed five runs to score his century. He went for a six but Glenn Phillips at mid-wicket caught the ball safely. Had Kohli scored his 49th century, he would have equaled Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most tons in ODI cricket.
Netizens lavish praise on Virat Kohli for his onslaught against New Zealand
Indian fans have been waiting for this day. They wanted to see India avenge their 2019 World Cup semifinal loss. And though India have a long way to go in the tournament, Indian fans are feeling proud of the efforts of the Men in Blue. Before Kohli, Mohammed Shami’s fiffer reduced the Kiwis to 273 runs despite Daryl Mitchell’s carnage.
Stunned netizens on X have nothing but immense praise for Kohli. But as, toward the end, he shifted his focus toward scoring his century, fans started calling him selfish again. They did so when Kohli completed his ton against Bangladesh by focusing more on his ton after guiding India to a very comfortable situation.
Check fans’ reactions here:
India have now won all the five matches they have played so far and are occupying the top position on the points table with 10 points. This defeat was New Zealand’s first one following four consecutive victories. After this match, India will face England on October 29, while New Zealand will square off against Australia on October 28.
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Gouri Das
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