In the 3rd and final ODI of New Zealand’s 2017 tour of India, Indian skipper Virat Kohli went past yet another major milestone in international cricket – 9,000 ODI runs. Half an hour later, he also recorded his 32nd ODI century; his 6th of 2017!
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Having won the toss in the final ODI, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson elected to field first in this all-important game. They stunned India in the 1st ODI with a brilliant run chase, but India hit back and levelled the series 1-1.
Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed early, leaving India at 29/1, but Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma came together to put up a massive partnership for the 2nd wicket. The pitch seemed good for the batsmen, the outfield was quick, and these two took complete advantage of the conditions.
Rohit Sharma was the aggressor among the two, having played some breathtaking shots and eventually getting to his 15th ODI century; his 1st against New Zealand in 18 games against them; his 5th in 2017. Kohli on the other side quietly registered his 46th ODI fifty.
Like most Rohit Sharma hundreds, this one too has been absolutely DELIGHTFUL
15th ODI century #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/BzVJzxseD7
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) October 29, 2017
As Rohit kept up his shot-making, Virat was scoring at almost a run-a-ball. He began this game at 8,917 ODI runs and needed to score 83 runs to get past this magical figure of 9,000 ODI runs. Before him, only 5 Indians and 18 world cricketers had reached the 9,000 ODI runs mark. Kohli became the 19th to do so.
After the 35th over, Rohit and Kohli realized that they had 9 wickets in hand and they went on a rampage, hitting the ball to every corner of the ground. It was the last ball of the 37th over and Kohli guided the ball down to third man for four. With that, he reached 83* and became the fastest batsman ever to 9,000 ODI runs, beating AB de Villiers by 11 innings.
These two kept scoring with Rohit in the mood to rip apart every Kiwi bowler. They became the first pair ever to score four 200+ partnerships in ODIs, with Sourav and Sachin having done it thrice, and Kohli having done it thrice with Gambhir as well. Sadly, the 230-run stand was broken when Rohit holed out in the deep for 147(137).
Opinion: Can Virat Kohli beat all of Sachin Tendulkar’s batting records?
ANOTHER MILESTONE: Virat’s 32nd ODI century, as he took a single off the first ball in the 44th over. If Rohit scored his 5th century this year, Virat bettered it by recording his 6th century of 2017. Having reached the 100-run mark in 96 balls, this became his 14th century with a strike rate of 100+.
The KING reaffirms his dominance – 2nd hundred of the #INDvNZ series. @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/TJZ3cQxXVb
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 29, 2017
That 6th ton for Kohli in 2017 becomes the most by a captain in a year, beating legendary captains Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting, Graeme Smith & AB de Villiers. Breaking records is becoming like eating breakfast for the Indian captain. Routine…
Kohli was eventually dismissed for 113(106), and India got up to a competitive total of 337/6 – the highest ODI score at Green Park, Kanpur.
