Guwahati: Making full use of two dropped chances, Virat Kohli smashed his 45th ODI hundred that propelled India to an imposing 373 for six against Sri Lanka in the series-opener here on Tuesday. Kohli, who scored 113 against Bangladesh in Chattogram in India's last ODI, continued from where he left to play the sheet anchor role with his 87-ball 113.
The class of Kohli was on full display as he smashed 12 fours and one six and held on to one end while wickets fell at regular intervals in the middle overs. At a venue where he had scored a century (140 vs West Indies) in the only ODI held here four years back, the former India skipper had luck by his side.
He was dropped twice -- on 52 and 81 -- en route to his 45th ODI century, four shy of maestro Sachin Tendulkar's all-time record of 49 centuries in the 50-over format. Overall, Kohli has now 73rd International centuries. To go with his 45 ODI hundreds, he has 27 in Test format and one in T20I.
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Back to back ODI hundreds for @imVkohli 👏👏
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 10, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
Live - https://t.co/MB6gfx9iRy #INDvSL @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/Crmm45NLNq
">Back to back ODI hundreds for @imVkohli 👏👏
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 10, 2023
Live - https://t.co/MB6gfx9iRy #INDvSL @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/Crmm45NLNqBack to back ODI hundreds for @imVkohli 👏👏
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 10, 2023
Live - https://t.co/MB6gfx9iRy #INDvSL @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/Crmm45NLNq
Read: X factor is dropped and mediocrity is retained: Prasad on India's selection calls
Skipper Rohit Sharma responded to the criticism of benching the in-form duo of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav by giving India a solid start in company of Shubman Gill. The Indian skipper had preferred Gill over Ishan who had to sit out despite a record-breaking 210 in India's last one-dayer.
Rohit slammed a 67-ball 83 (9x4, 3x6) in a knock of sheer domination. On a flat deck, Rohit was at ease to step out to the Lankan pacers, pulling them with nonchalance en route to a 41-ball fifty. Gill was also at his fluent best and complemented his skipper keeping his flair and elegance intact.
Continuing his dream run in ODIs, Gill brought up his fifth half-century that came off 51 balls. It was a one-way traffic for the Indian opening duo before Dasun Shanaka dismissed Gill. The youngster was guilty of playing across the line and wad trapped in front of the wicket.
Looking to bring an end to his century drought, Rohit too perished in addition of 30 runs to the total. He was cleaned up by debutant Dilshan Madushanka. Run-rate slowed down and it was a welcome respite for Sri Lanka who till then were staring at a 400-plus target.
The home team slowly gained the lost momentum with Kohli and Shreyas Iyer (28) taking charge of the middle-overs. Having got the nod ahead of Suryakumar Yadav, Iyer looked fluent and hit Wanindu Hasaranga for a six. But he failed to convert his start. Underfire KL Rahul (39) also could not make it big and was bowled around the legs after being deceived by a slower one from Kasun Rajitha.
Trivia: Maximum ODI centuries in one country
Virat Kohli, 99 innings, Number of centuries in India: 20
Sachin Tendulkar in India, Number of centuries: 20, Innings: 160
Hashim Amla in his country South Africa, Centuries: 14, Innings: 69
Ricky Ponting in Australia, Innings 151, Centuries: 14
Most number of ODI centuries against a team
Virat Kohli has 9 centuries against both West Indies and Sri Lanka.
Sachin Tendulkar has 9 tons against Australia.
Skipper Rohit Sharma has eight against Australia.
Virat Kohli too has eight tons against the Aussies.
Sachin Tendulkar has eight 100s against Sri Lanka.
Brief Scores:
India: 373/7 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 113, Rohit Sharma 83, Shubman Gill 60).
SCOREBOARD: India vs Sri Lanka
India
Rohit Sharma b Dilshan Madushanka 83
Shubman Gill lbw b Shanaka 70
Virat Kohli c Kusal Mendis b Rajitha 113
Shreyas Iyer c Avishka Fernando b Dhananjaya de Silva 28
KL Rahul b Rajitha 39
Hardik Pandya c Hasaranga b Rajitha 14
Axar Patel c Avishka Fernando b C Karunaratne 9
Mohammed Shami not out 4
Mohammed Siraj not out 7
Extras: (lb-1, w-5) 6
Total: 373/7 in 50 overs
Fall of wickets: 143-1, 173-2, 213-3, 303-4, 330-5, 362-6, 364-7
Bowling: Kasun Rajitha 10-0-88-3, Dilshan Madushanka 6-0-43-1, Wanindu Hasaranga 10-0-67-0, Chamika Karunaratne 8-0-54-1, Dunith Wellalage 8-0-65-0, Dasun Shanaka 3-0-22-1, Dhananjaya de Silva 5-0-33-1. (With PTI)
