Virat Kohli’s century star of India’s fourth successful chase of the World Cup

Clinical display by India to defeat Bangladesh by 7 wickets

October 19, 2023: A World Cup hundred in a chase had eluded Virat Kohli, and he made sure that he wouldn’t miss it this time around, sprinting to it with a flurry of boundaries and some graceful help from KL Rahul.

Chasing a below-par target of 257 for a win, India began with aggression as openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill put the Bangla bowling to the sword with a series of fours and sixes and in no time, the contest turned one-sided. Rohit missed his fifty, but Gill completed his, which could’ve been a hundred but for momentary lack of concentration, holing to deep mid-wicket. Shreyas Iyer missed out another chance to prove his credentials, falling for 19. 

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul put up an unbeaten 83-run partnership with Kohli entertaining the crowd with some power-hitting sixes at the end of his innings. Summing up his hunger for runs on the big stage, Kohli in the post-match presentation said: “I wanted to make a big contribution. I have had a few fifties in World Cups, but haven’t really converted. I just wanted to finish off the game this time around and hang around till the end, which is what I have done over the years.”

Earlier, deciding to bat first, Bangladesh squandered a good start after putting up 90 for no loss in 14 overs, but couldn’t get to a challenging score. Credit to India’s bowlers, who came back with renewed vigour after the fall of the first wicket. Despite all-rounder Hardik Pandya limping out with a twisted ankle, India’s bowling dominance continued with Bumrah, Siraj, Jadeja and Kuldeep chipping in with wickets at regular intervals. Indian fielding was top-notch with Jadeja and KLR Rahul picking brilliant catches.

KL Rahul's acrobatic catch

Tanzid Hasan, getting his maiden fifty scoring 51 off 43 balls and Litton Das, who made 82-ball 66 were the stand-out performances at the top. After a lull in the middle-order, veteran wicket-keeper batter Mushfiqur Rahim’s 38 and Mahmudullah’s big-hitting 46 off 36 balls got Bangladesh to a decent 256 but, in the end proved small for the rampaging Indians.

If anything, the crowd missed in the match was a wicket for Virat Kohli, who bowled just three balls to complete the over by Pandya.

Tied on points with four wins each, the table-toppers New Zealand and India face off on Sunday at Dharamshala for a clear lead at the top.

- Venkat, Team Pure Cricket

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