Virat Kohli played the captain’s knock to guide his team to six-wicket victory against hosts South Africa in the first One Day International (ODI) match Kingsmead in Durban on February 1. Kohli scored 112 runs off 119 deliveries which included 10 hits to the fence while Ajinkya Rahane scored a steady 79 off 86 balls.
During his unbeaten knock, Indian skipper Kohli registered several records. This was Kohli’s maiden century on South African soil as well as his 20th century while chasing a target. With this knock, Kohli has now scored a century in all the countries he has played in.
India win and take 1-0 lead _
Virat Kohli’s 1st ODI ton in SA_
Virat Kohli – Man of the Match_
Rahane’s 5th straight ODI 50_#TeamIndia #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/tVyX5P4Q8a— BCCI (@BCCI) 1 February 2018
Soon after he completed his century during the first ODI, Kohli marked the moment with his quintessential angry expressions. On being asked about it during the post-match presentation, Kohli said: “It was a special knock for me because the first game of a series is always important. We wanted to take the momentum of the Test win into this and when we restricted South Africa to 270 on this sort of a pitch, we were happy.”
ALSO READ: Virat Kohli & Co set 10 unique records after beating South Africa in 1st ODI. Full list inside
Kohli was well supported by Ajinkya Rahane from the other end as India chased down the 270-run target set by Proteas in 45.3 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the six-match series.
Indian skipper Kohli and Rahane came together after Team India lost their openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan early on. The duo put together a match-winning stand of 189 runs on the score-board.
While calling Ajinkya a top-class player, Kohli said: “Very happy for Jinx. Jinx is a top-class player. He was superb, he took on the fast bowlers. He batted positively and I could solidify the situation from the other end. Hats off to him, he was outstanding.”
Earlier, SA’s skipper Faf du Plessis won the toss and he decided to bat first. The hosts too suffered a batting collapse at the top order. Skipper then helped his team with his ninth ODI century to post a competitive 269/8 against India during the first ODI.
This was the first time in four years, both the skippers notched up a ton.
Both the team will face next in SuperSport Park, Centurion for the 2nd ODI on February 4. The match will start at 1:30 PM IST.
