The ongoing ninth match of Asia Cup 2023 between India and Pakistan in Colombo has enticed a flurry of records towards the Indian cricketers. A rare dominating batting performance in ODI cricket lately witnessed India scoring 356/2 in 50 overs across a couple of afternoons after being asked to bat first by Pakistan captain Babar Azam.
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With each one of the Top Four batters crossing the 50-run mark, captain Rohit Sharma, opener Shubman Gill, former captain Virat Kohli and batter KL Rahul joined hands to register only the fourth such instance in this format among Indian cricketers.
Interestingly, in the form of an ICC Champions Trophy 2017 league match, the last time when India’s Top Four had achieved this feat was also against Pakistan in a multi-nation tournament.
6 Years After India’s Top 4 Last Scored 50+ In An ODI, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli And KL Rahul Repeat Feat In Colombo
In what had happened six years ago, Sharma, veteran batter Shikhar Dhawan, Kohli and former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh had all scored more than 50 runs at Edgbaston on that occasion. Co-incidentally, much like Azam, the then Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed had invited India to bat first in a match which was also affected by rain in Birmingham.
Barring Sharma, who had scored 91 (119) at a strike rate of 76.47, each one of the remaining three batters had scored individual half-centuries whilst striking at more than a run-a-ball. While Dhawan and Kohli had struck at 104.62 and 119.11 respectively, it was Singh’s 53 (32) at 165.62 which had allowed India to put on board 319/3 in 48 overs in a winning cause.
It is worth of a mention that left-handed Singh was the only constant name in the first three similar incidents for Indian batters. After him, both Sharma and Kohli feature twice in this list.
Speaking of the latest case, Sharma’s 50th ODI half-century and Gill’s eighth ODI half-century provided the team with a solid start in the form of a quickfire 100-ball 121-run opening partnership. The two right-handed batters’ foundation received a shot in the arm on the back of Kohli’s 47th and Rahul’s sixth ODI century.
Part of an unbeaten 233-run third-wicket stand, India’s second-highest for the given wicket in the format, Kohli scored 122* (94) with the help of nine fours and three sixes. Rahul, more fluent of the two initially, meanwhile, scored 111* (106) including 12 fours and two sixes in his first competitive match in over four months.
Virat Kohli Becomes Quickest To 13,000 ODI Runs
Readers must note that Kohli’s 40th ODI century at No. 3 is also his fifth in Sri Lanka, fourth in Asia Cup (second-highest) and at R Premdasa Stadium and third against Pakistan, under Sharma and in 2023.
Kohli, who is only two short of equaling Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar‘s world record of 49 ODI hundreds, became only the fifth cricketer to surpass the 13,000-mark in the ODI format. It is to be noted that Kohli completed 13,000 ODI runs right before touching the three-figure mark today.
Fastest to have achieved this milestone, Kohli is the only batter to have pulled off this feat before his 300th ODI innings. In fact, the right-handed batter managed to do it in only his 267th innings. The other in Tendulkar (321), Ricky Ponting (341), Kumar Sangakkara (363) and Sanath Jayasuriya (416) had all reached this accomplishment way later in their respective careers.
