India vs New Zealand 2019: Top three Virat Kohli innings against the Kiwis
Every Indian fan waits for Virat Kohli to come to the crease as they did to the great Sachin Tendulkar. To fit into the shoes of such a great player wasn’t a joke and Kohli has justified this with brilliant performances across formats. The ‘Run Machine’ as he is called, is the best in business while chasing big totals in the ODIs. Out of 39 tons in the limited format, 24 of them have come while batting second at a jaw-dropping average of 68.75.
Virat has been the prime force behind India’s success in the past five years. His attacking brand of cricket has been the best lubricant for his dominance against every side. After a historic Test and ODI series victory at Australia, India will travel to New Zealand for five ODIs and three T20Is.
Virat’s numbers in ODIs against the Kiwis is an astounding 1154 runs in 19 matches at an average of 72.12, which includes five hundreds. The Black Caps have barely been able to sustain his supremacy over the years and on that note, let's take a look at Virat Kohli's top three innings versus the Kiwis.
#1: 123 in Napier (2014)
It was the first ODI at Napier and India were keen to start the series on a high. Having won the toss, the Indian captain put the opposition to bat. They didn’t start well, losing 2 wickets in the first 8 overs. The contributions of Williamson and Taylor in the middle overs helped them recover. Corey Anderson came at number six and scored 68 runs off just 40 deliveries, taking them to 292.
While chasing, Kohli came in when India lost Rohit Sharma in the sixth over, with a stiff target in hand. He along with Shikhar Dhawan put on a partnership of 59 runs for the second wicket. After this, wickets kept on tumbling at one end while Kohli continued to pile up runs. Dhoni came in when the score was 129 for 4 and the pair produced 95 runs for the fifth wicket. They ran hard, converted the ones into twos and tried to release the pressure. In the process, Kohli got to his hundred in 93 balls.
Dhoni fell in the 43rd over which meant that the match was in Kohli’s hands. He tried his very best but failed to take his team home in spite of scoring 123 runs off 111 balls (fours-11, sixes-2). Even though India lost this match, it was an innings that will always be remembered for its never-say-die attitude.