Team India players were full of praise for Virat Kohli after his scintillating century guided India to a 17-run win over South Africa in the first ODI in Ranchi. Kohli's 135 off 120 balls, his 52nd ODI hundred, set the tone for India's strong start to the series, and his teammates spoke open
"I have put in considerable amount of work over the years, so I would say that yes, I am in that place now. I can say that I am still looking to get better every day of my life, that's where I am," he added.
"But he's in a place mentally where he's eager to be out there playing for India. You can see it when he's running between the wickets, fielding and diving. He's mentally young, fresh, and wants to be here," he noted.
"If you see this innings, you will notice two Virat Kohlis, one an aggressor in the powerplay, and the other after the powerplay, when wickets were falling. Then he became an adamant batter who was not ready to give up his wicket," Pathan explained on his YouTube channel.
Virat continued his golden run at Ranchi's JSCA Stadium and continued shutting down all doubts and questions around his long-term future with the team heading into the 2027 WC with a magnificent century that was, in many ways, reminiscent of Virat of the yesteryears, with razor sharp footwor
Be it the 'Ro-Ko' show, the signature fighting spirit of South Africans or Kuldeep Yadav's spin web, the crowd at Ranchi was a witness to this all during the first ODI of the three-match series.
During the Ranchi ODI, both sides scored a massive 681 runs, outdoing their 662 runs scored during the clash at Wankhede in the 2015 series, which saw SA pile up 438/4 with centuries from Quinton de Kock (109), Faf Du Plessis (133) and AB de Villiers (119) and India crumbling to 224 all out
The 'Ro-Ko' carnival continued from where it left off in Sydney and enthralled the Ranchi crowd, with Virat scoring his 52nd ODI ton and Rohit smashing the record for most ODI sixes. Despite a fiery new ball spell from Harshit Rana, the Proteas managed to pull themselves back in the game fro
Virat continued to mesmerise fans amidst all the chatter about his ODI future heading into the 2027 ODI World Cup, hitting his 52nd ODI century and achieving the record for most centuries in a single format by a batter. During his 120-ball stay, Virat smashed 135 runs with 11 fours and seven
India is 1-0 up in the three-match series. Putting India to bat first, SA paid the price as Virat Kohli (135 in 120 balls, with 11 fours and seven sixes), KL Rahul (60 in 56 balls, with two fours and three sixes) and Rohit Sharma (57 in 51 balls, with five fours and a six) taking India to 34
Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan said that another century off Virat Kohli's bat was "inevitable" after the star Indian batter scored his 52nd ODI ton in the India vs South Africa match at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi. While Wassan expressed joy for Virat's performance, he remained unsur
Just after Virat reached the landmark in 102 balls after gliding a Marco Jansen delivery for a four, a fan ran onto the ground, managing to greet Virat by touching his arms before he was removed from the field of play by the security.