Ranking Virat Kohli's 5 best centuries against Bangladesh
When Virat Kohli stepped out and whipped the low full toss from Nasum Ahmed for a six, to bring up his century, the entire Indian cricket fandom cheered.
Kohli gave another demonstration of his ability to anchor successful run chases. He not only registered his 48th One-Day International hundred but also got his team to their fourth win on the trot in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Kohli loves playing against Bangladesh (who always seem to be reliant on their spinners). Despite the former India captain's spin game having deteriorated a bit in recent times, he still manages to score daddy hundreds against the Asian side.
While Virat Kohli averages 75.83 against Bangladesh in ODIs, his average of 54.63 in Test matches against the same team is a testimony to his batting prowess against spinners.
In this article, we are going to rank the prolific Indian batter's five best centuries against Bangladesh. It's a team against which the 34-year-old has often been at his best.
#5 100* off 83 balls, Mirpur, Dhaka, 2011 World Cup
In their match against Bangladesh in the 2007 ODI World Cup, India tasted a shocking defeat which got them knocked out of the tournament.
In the 2011 World Cup, the MS Dhoni-led side were keen for redemption. And what better way to do that than pile up a huge total of 370/4 batting first?
Despite it being his first-ever World Cup game, Virat Kohli never seemed to be out of place. Coming in to bat at 152/2, he played his shots and never let the tempo of the innings suffer.
Kohli got to his maiden World Cup century in style, whipping Shafiul Islam's fuller-length delivery on the pads to the mid-wicket region. He also silenced his critics, who were questioning his place in the side.
#4 113 off 91 balls, Chittagong, 2022
Even if you're one of the greatest white-ball players of all time, a lean patch will catch you at some stage of your career. Virat Kohli was no exception. He went through a period of nearly three years without an international hundred, across formats.
He eventually ended the drought against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup 2022, but it came in a T20I game, and questions were still looming over his ODI form.
On a placid wicket in Chittagong, pristine for batting, he and Ishan Kishan demolished the Bangladesh attack, who till then were all over Indian batsmen in the series.
It was Kishan who tore apart the home team's bowling attack by scoring a double hundred. Kohli, unusually for him, played a supporting role. But, he kept playing his shots and completed his 72nd century in style with a six - a subtle glance to the fine-leg fence off Ebadot Hossain.
#3 136 off 122 balls, Fatullah, 2014
Virat Kohli's mastery of chasing was on display again when he propelled his side to a win against Bangladesh in the 2014 Asia Cup, chasing 280 on a relatively tough wicket to bat on.
With both openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, getting out cheaply, India found themselves in trouble at 54/2.
Skipper Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane stitched together a 213-run partnership, with the former playing the aggressor and making sure the asking rate never went too high.
When Kohli got out in the 47th over, he had already made sure that India had the match in their grasp, with him scoring 136 runs off just 122 balls.
#2 204 off 246 balls, Hyderabad Test, 2017
2016–18 was a phase where the world got to see the beast version of Virat Kohli in Test matches as he scored double hundreds for fun.
It was the turn of Bangladesh to face the ire of Kohli's peak batting prowess in the Hyderabad Test of 2017, where he seemed to be at another level with an SR in excess of 80+.
He was at his dominating best against the spinners of Bangladesh and didn't have any sort of trouble playing them, either with the spin or against it.
He swept, cut, and used the crease astutely to notch up a well-deserving double ton in the Hyderabad Test.
#1 136 off 194 balls, Kolkata Test, 2019
This was a historic occasion as it was the first-ever day-night Test match on Indian soil. On a spitter of a pitch where balls seemed to be spinning like a cobra, Virat Kohli produced a masterclass of an innings when he counterattacked to absolute perfection.
He got beaten at times, but that didn't stop him from going after the bowlers, be they spinners or pacers; everyone got deposited with disdain from Kohli.
On a surface where anything above 200 seemed to be a great total, Kohli's knock of 136 helped India reach 347/9d. This allowed the Indian bowlers to pick up all 20 of Bangladesh's wickets cheaply and earn an innings win for the team.