Like always, he ran like the wind. Virat Kohli knows no other way. As Lockie Ferguson steamed in, Kohli shuffled across and redirected the delivery to backward square-leg. The single was taken at a breathless pace and then he turned around for his second, a run that ushered in his 50th ODI ton. One better than his idol Sachin Tendulkar’s previous record of 49 centuries.
In the history of India’s batting riches, Kohli had carved a niche for himself many moons ago. And when the 50th hundred was registered at a heaving Wankhede Stadium here on Wednesday evening, it had an air of inevitability. After skipper Rohit Sharma struck a scorching 47 to set the base, Kohli walked in and did his usual thing, pinching singles, flexing the odd four, and watching his younger partner Shubman Gill tuck into the New Zealand attack in the World Cup semifinal.
