India vs England, 1st ODI: Virat Kohli scores his 27th hundred

This was Kohli’s third hundred against England, the last being 112 at his home ground Delhi back in 2012.

India captain Virat Kohli scored his 27th hundred, against England, in the first of the three-match ODI series at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. This was Kohli’s third hundred against England, the last being 112 at his home ground Delhi back in 2012. In pursuit of 351, Kohli came in to bat when India were stuttering at 13 for 1. Given the run rate, he wasted no time and fired on all cylinders right from the word go. As a matter of fact, he took only 5 balls to hit his first six: he danced down the track and flicked it over deep mid-wicket.

Playing in his first match as the full-time captain in limited-overs cricket, the world witnessed a different Kohli today. Instead of waiting for the ball to come onto the bat, he danced down the track and took the English bowlers to the cleaners. His second and third boundaries came in similar fashion: chipping one over mid-off and then targeting mid-on. Meanwhile, India lost KL Rahul. However, Kohli knew India were racing against time. He flashed a short, wide delivery over third-man, registering another six. He then welcomed Ben Stokes with a push past mid-on. Looking more and more elegant as the innings progressed, Kohli brought up his 50 off 44 deliveries.

FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs England, 1st ODI at Pune

It was just another day and just another Kohli special. And rarely does he fail to reach the three-figure mark once he gets his eye. Today was just that day. He kept scoring fours and sixes, eventually reaching his 100 off 93 balls. Right now is one century short of equalling Sanath Jayasuriya’s tally of 28 hundreds, reaching the third spot in the list of most hundreds. Only Sachin Tendulkar (49) and Ricky Ponting (30) have more.