On August 18, 2008, a 20-year-old young cricketer made his first ever appearance for his country in an ODI game. Not many have predicted that that boy will dominate the world of cricket for the next decade. And he was Virat Kohli. The superb 14-year career of Virat Kohli has seen all the major achievements that a cricketer wishes for in his career.
He has scored runs all over the world in all three formats consistently. That is why he was named “Player of the Decade” by the ICC from 2010 to 2020. And he is still going very solidly and scoring runs at will. He announced his comeback to form with certainly his best T20I innings against Pakistan in the first game for India in the T20 World Cup 2022. In this article, we will cover the top five innings played by Virat in his career.
5. Virat Kohli 71st International century in Asia Cup 2022
Virat scored his 70th international century in November 2019. It came against Bangladesh in a pink-ball test match at Eden Gardens. But then there was a century-long drought of more than two and a half years for the former Indian skipper. He also went through a rough patch during this period, and it was very hard for him to play a significant inning. But then came to an end the long-awaited 71st century during the Asia Cup 2022. It was the last game for India in the tournament, and he played an unbeaten knock to end the century drought of 1021 days. He made 122* off 61 balls, with 12 fours and six sixes. That might not have come against a big team, but that was certainly the foundation of his comeback.
2. Fastest ODI century for India
Virat Kohli is considered a classy player who loves to play copybook shots. But did you know that it is he who holds the record for the fastest ODI century for an Indian batter? And it came against Australia in Jaipur during their 2013 tour. It was the second game of the seven-match series. Batting first, Australia posted a huge total of 359/5 in their 50 overs. Chasing a big target, India got off to a brilliant start with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan (95 off 86) adding 176 runs for the first wicket in 26.1 overs. Then came Virat and took the game away. He scored a 52-ball unbeaten century and made 100* off 52 balls, with 8 fours and 7 sixes. Rohit was also not out on 141* off 123, and India chased down 362/1 in just 43.3 overs.
3. Virat Kohli- 82 not out vs AUS in 2016 WT20 in Mohali
Virat Kohli is just the best batter when it comes to the T20 World Cup. He is the leading run-getter in the tournament’s history. One of his best innings came against Australia in the 2016 T20 World Cup in Mohali. It was the 31st game of the tournament, and Australia made 160/6 in their 20 overs. Chasing that target, India lost their first three wickets for just 49 runs in 7.4 overs. But then came Virat’s incredible inning. He stayed till the very end and single-handedly took India to victory. Virat made an unbeaten 82* off 51 balls with nine fours and two sixes. India made 161/4 in 19.1 overs to win the game by six wickets.
2. Twin Test Centuries at Adelaide Oval down under
For any sub-continent player, it is very tough to score runs in SENA countries. But if the player is Virat Kohli and he is playing in Australia, then one can guarantee tons of runs. Virat’s twin centuries in Adelaide are still among the best performances by a visiting player in Australia. He was the captain during the test and scored 115 and 141 runs in both innings of the game. Chasing the target of 364 runs, India got out for 315 runs and lost the Test by 48 runs. But that was certainly the best by Virat Kohli.
1. Virat Kohli – 82* vs Pakistan in 2022 T20 World Cup at MCG
India started their 2022 T20 World Cup with a win over arch rivals Pakistan on October 23 at the MCG. And the artist of the win was Virat Kohli, who played the innings of his life. Chasing the target of 160 runs, India were 31/4 in 6.1 overs. Then, Virat added 113 runs with Hardik Pandya (40). In the end, he took all the responsibility upon himself and took India home. He returned unbeaten on 82* off 53 balls with six fours and four sixes, and India won by four wickets.