Is it time to bow down to the King? Indian cricket fraternal praises Kohli after his second consecutive ODI ton
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Virat Kohli scored his 84th international century.
- He has achieved back-to-back centuries in ODIs.
- Ruturaj Gaikwad scored his maiden ODI century.
- India set a total of 358 runs.
- The match took place at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur.
New Delhi, Dec 3 (NationPress) The Indian cricket community showered accolades on Virat Kohli as the cricketing icon achieved his second successive century during the second ODI against South Africa on Wednesday at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur.
Kohli maintained his exceptional form from Ranchi, where he scored a remarkable 135 runs off 120 balls in the first ODI, contributing to India's victory. He celebrated his 84th international century, marking the 53rd of his ODI career. Notably, Kohli formed a monumental 195-run partnership for the third wicket with Ruturaj Gaikwad, who also reached the three-figure milestone, marking his debut century in ODIs.
Following Kohli's standout performance, both current and former Indian cricketers shared their admiration on X, expressing their thoughts on his remarkable innings.
Shreevats Goswami remarked, “This century from Virat surpasses the one in Ranchi. The pitch posed challenges with the ball behaving unpredictably, yet he made it look easy. He is an absolute run-scoring machine.”
Aakash Chopra added, “Back-to-back centuries. Beast mode activated.” Irfan Pathan noted, “On Sundays, the king shines, but on weekdays, he disrupts your plans. A brilliant century by Virat Kohli.”
Virender Sehwag, the former cricket legend, stated, “Virat Kohli has a unique addiction to scoring centuries. While we count centuries, he approaches it as a routine task. Two back-to-back centuries for the King. His 53rd ODI hundred—if Virat is playing, anything is possible. Kudos also to Ruturaj Gaikwad for a fantastic century.”
“Without Kohli, cricket is incomplete... pure vintage!” wrote Mohammad Kaif.
“Bow down to the King, Virat Kohli,” expressed Indian spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.
India concluded their innings strongly with a score of 358/5, thanks to centuries from Gaikwad (105) and Kohli (102), along with a commendable unbeaten 66 from skipper KL Rahul, setting a formidable target for the South Africans to chase.