Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batsmen of all time, and he is also the Indian cricket team’s most trusted player. His intensity on the field is unmatchable, and till the time he is at the crease, any total looks chaseable. In India’s ODI Cricket World Cup match against Bangladesh, Kohli slammed his 48th ODI ton to take his team home in a 257-run target chase.
While Kohli looked positive throughout his innings, towards the end it seemed like he and KL Rahul were not taking singles so the former remains on strike to get his first century in the ODI Cricket World Cup 2023. India had reached 238/3 in 39 overs, chasing 257, with Virat Kohli batting on 81 and KL Rahul on 34*. From that point, the two batted in a way that indicated that getting to Kohli’s ton was the aim.
“He was confused actually. He said ‘it will not look too nice, not to take this single. It’s still a World Cup. It’s still a big stage. I don’t want to look like I am trying to get to the milestone’. I said ‘It’s still not won, but I think we will win this quite easily. So, if you can get to the milestone, why not. You must’,” KL Rahul said at he end of the match. “He did that at the end. I wasn’t going to run the singles anyway.”
WATCH – Jasprit Bumrah’s Searing Yorker Dismisses Mahmudullah, Sends Him Packing
On Bangladesh bowlers bowling down the leg-side towards the end with Kohli a few runs away from his 48th ODI ton, KL Rahul said: “That happened in the last over as well. Bowled a slower bouncer, went for a wide. I mean…can’t really, it’s a hard question to answer. I decided I wll have a quiet word with the bowler but yeah…”
Following India’s seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the ICC Cricket World Cup, India’s rising batting sensation Shubman Gill said that the team aims to carry on with their momentum after completing easy chases in all their four matches so far, adding that before the tournament, the team was not able to chase big totals this well.
KL Rahul said “I denied the single. Virat said it would be bad if you won’t take single, people will think playing for personal milestone but I said we are comfortably winning, you complete your century”. pic.twitter.com/32DWR6foF2
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 19, 2023
“I mean, you can see how confident they (top order batters) are, the way they are scoring runs. Definitely, I think this is one of the things that was talked about, especially leading up to the World Cup, that we were not chasing that well, those big totals, but I think having won all the four matches while chasing, I think it’s a great way to have that momentum with us in those big games that we will have moving forward,” Shubman Gill said during post-match conference.
Some people believe that Kohli should have taken singles towards the end of the innings to ensure that India won the match quickly and convincingly. Others, however, are defending Kohli, saying that there is nothing wrong with wanting to score a century, especially in a World Cup match.
ALSO READ: Virat Kohli’s Century Leads India To 4th Consecutive Victory, Netizens Erupt In Joy
Ultimately, only time will tell whether Kohli’s decision to focus on his century will cost India in the long run. However, one thing is for sure: Kohli is one of the greatest batsmen of all time, and he is always capable of match-winning performances. A lot of netizens are trolling Kohli for allegedly putting his milestone ahead of India’s victory. Notably, #selfish was also trending on Twitter after Virat Kohli completed his 48th ODI ton with a six.
Rohit Sharma Never Begged Non Strikes For Singles On a Last Ball To complete His centuries#Selfish#Shameonkohli pic.twitter.com/D69W7mMTKO
— ʀɪᴛʜɪᴋ (@T3RM1NATOR_) October 19, 2023
I used to just troll kohli earlier
but after this inning I will hate kohli
How someone can rejects 10 singles for a single 100 ?? pic.twitter.com/qLmW64jjt4
— 𝗔𝘆𝘂𝘀𝗵 🇮🇳 (@RofiedAyush) October 19, 2023
Anyway, congrats to Kohli for the 100. Played well except the last few balls…..Enjoy that Viratians…..a WC 100 is as special as it gets….but you should never troll others for statpadding
REMEMBER THIS ALWAYS
AND I’M NOT TARGETTING KOHLI HERE
— Aadvik (@thecoolguy03) October 19, 2023
Kohli deserved doing jugad technology for his century today
because in the end u guys count century only
Kohli ke 2 hi WC century hai bol kar troll krte— Anand (@Anandro1d) October 19, 2023
