Kohli’s record-breaking birthday ton propels India to fighting total against South Africa at Eden Gardens
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Virat Kohli now has joint-most ODI hundreds to his name.
Virat Kohli entered history books with his record-equalling 49th ODI hundred on his birthday at the Eden Gardens, as his unbeaten 101 off 121 balls helped India put up a fighting 326 for five on the board in the first innings.
After electing to bat first in Kolkata, the Indian openers went berserk, with captain Rohit Sharma being the aggressor of the two. Both right-handed batters let loose in the first five overs, helping India cross the 50-run mark. Even though Proteas pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada dismissed Rohit caught on 40, India’s scorecard after the end of the first ten overs read 91 for one.
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj dismissed Shubman Gill, clean bowled off a Jaffa to silence the crowd in the next over.
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Courtesy of tight bowling, South Africa conceded just 33 runs in the next ten overs as the batting pair of birthday boy Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer struggled to get going. After Keshav completed his quota of ten overs, both batters opened their arms.
Iyer and Kohli hit their respective fifties, taking the seam attack to the cleaners, especially Jansen.
Just when Iyer put in the fifth gear, looking likely to reach the three-digit mark, a back-of-the-hand slower delivery from Ngidi caught him off guard on 77.
India’s man-of-crisis, KL Rahul, soon departed on eight by Jansen. Rassie van der Dussen pulled off an excellent catch in the deep.
Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav kept the momentum going with odd boundaries as the crowd cheered for the King to equal Sachin Tendulkar’s historic ODI tally.
In the meantime, much like Iyer, Suryakumar gave away his wicket at a time when he had started to peak.
After a few singles, the moment came the cricket world was craving, as Virat Kohli notched up his 49th ODI hundred on his 35th birthday, becoming the batter with joint-most ODI tons (equalling Sachin’s record) in history.
Jadeja took the onus on himself in the final over, smashing a six and two fours, as India amassed 326 for five in 50 overs.
