"If you drop his catch, he will not leave you" - Aakash Chopra lauds Virat Kohli's century in 1st IND vs SL ODI

Aakash Chopra has lauded Virat Kohli for making the best of his let-offs by scoring a century in the first ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Tuesday, January 10.

Kohli smashed 113 runs off 87 balls as the Men in Blue set a mammoth 374-run target for the Lankan Lions after being asked to bat first. Their bowlers then restricted Dasun Shanaka and Co. to 306/8 to register a 67-run win and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted that Kohli made Sri Lanka pay for the chances they gave him, elaborating:

"Say along with me and even louder if you are Sri Lankan that you will not drop Virat Kohli's catch because if you drop his catch, he will not leave you. They dropped two catches of Virat Kohli and then he struck another century."

The former Indian opener feels the hosts could have posted an even bigger score if they had made better use of the last few overs, observing:

"He has struck a century in the last two consecutive games. He scored one in the dead rubber and here he has struck it in the first match. India scored 373 and it seemed for the first time that 373 were also less, 425 could have been scored, the Indian batters hit so much."

India were 294/3 after the 40th over. With seven wickets in hand, they might have been looking to score at least 100 runs in the last 10 but managed only 79, with just 17 coming off the last three overs.

"He was actually on song from the start" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli's knock

Virat Kohli struck 12 fours and a six during his innings. [P/C: BCCI]

Chopra pointed out that Kohli got off to an excellent start before he was dropped twice, stating:

"Virat Kohli started in a good fashion, was scoring at better than a run-a-ball. He was actually on song from the start. But after that Kusal Mendis dropped an easy catch of him off Kasun Rajitha's bowling and then Dasun Shanaka dropped another catch at cover."

The reputed commentator highlighted that the modern batting great added another feather to his cap, saying:

"After that, he doesn't leave you. He scores a century, another century for Virat Kohli. He is going at a different level in ODI centuries. He has equaled Sachin Tendulkar's record of centuries at home, both have 20, and has reached 45 in the number of ODI centuries."

Virat Kohli has no competition 🙏🏻

#CricketTwitter #india https://t.co/kKTWy3YMee

Chopra also praised Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill for giving India an excellent start. He appreciated KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer as well, pointing out that the duo batted aggressively although they might not have played substantial knocks.