The year 2012 was one of the first years for Virat Kohli as an international cricketer that the world saw how great he can be in the future. In 2012, Virat Kohli played a special one vs Sri Lanka at Hobart early in that year but just a few months later he played an even better innings against a much better side and the arch rivals Pakistan. That match was also the last ODI in the iconic career of Sachin Tendulkar so Virat gave him the perfect gift.
Without wasting anymore time let’s look at this incredible knock and the context of this innings in all its glory
Pakistan made a great first innings score
Before the talk shifts to that innings by Virat Kohli, it has to be said that Pakistan batted exceedingly well in the first innings of this ODI match and they were in attack mode from the start as their openers made centuries each and put the pressure on India and the Bowlers had no answers to the brilliance of the batting by Pakistan and as a result Pakistan made a very good 329 in 50 overs and at that time this was a very big score to chase.
Check here Top 10 Greatest Pakistani Cricketers
Sachin Tendulkar made a good half century in his last match
In his last ODI match Sachin Tendulkar was in form like he always was and after the first wicket fell for 0, he and Virat Kohli put India back on track in this match and Sachin Tendulkar made a good 52 runs from 48 balls with 5 fours and 1 big six and he went out in good fashion. And then Rohit Sharma also made 68 valuable runs in 83 balls which also helped India a big deal in chasing down this big total.
Also Read | Best Sachin Tendulkar ODI innings
The Virat Kohli Special
Now let’s talk about that innings which put a stamp that Virat Kohli was going to be the best player in the world. He came to bat at number 3 and India were under severe pressure and he along with his idol Sachin Tendulkar had a 133 run partnership which helped India. He made 183 out of 330 runs that India had to chase and if he had not gotten out then a double hundred was on the cards as well. He only took 148 balls to make these runs and he hit 22 fours and 1 six meaning 94 runs in boundaries. He was batting at a strike rate of 123.64. Virat Kohli also made the magic score of 183 which Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni also made and all 3 of them became great captains for India.
Also Read: Talking about the 133* by Virat Kohli vs Sri Lanka at Hobart
