Virat Kohli Birthday: India's Top 5 ODI wins under Kohli's captaincy
Virat Kohli has captained India in 43 ODIs thus far. The 'Men in Blue' have won as many as 33 of those matches and lost only on 9 occasions. The Delhi dasher's winning percentage of 78.57 is the best among all captains who have led their teams in at least 40 matches.
Admittedly, these are early days in the star batsman's captaincy journey in the 50-over format. The likes of Clive Lloyd, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting have managed to rack up an astonishing winning percentage over a significantly extended span of matches. Having gotten off to a strong start in his leadership career, Kohli has raised expectations of an extremely promising future.
As Kohli turns 29 this Sunday, we celebrate his odyssey by focusing on his accomplishments until now. In this segment, let us take a look at five of the most memorable ODI victories for India under the right-hander's captaincy thus far. Emphasis has been placed on matches which played decisive roles in shaping the direction of the Indian team's fortunes in those series.
#5 5th ODI against Sri Lanka at Ranchi (2014)
Heading into the final game at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi, India were seeking their fifth clean sweep of series comprising of 5 or more ODIs. Battered into submission in the previous match by Rohit Sharma's record-breaking 264, Sri Lanka appeared to be down in the dumps.
However, skipper Angelo Mathews was keen to salvage something from the tour. He led from the front by hammering an unbeaten 116-ball 139 and helped the visitors reach a strong total of 286 on a dicey track. The all-rounder extrapolated his batting resonance with a sizzling new-ball spell that left India staring down the abyss at 14/2.
Extra Cover: 5 times Virat Kohli destroyed Sri Lanka in ODIs
Walking in at number four, captain Kohli forged a game-changing partnership with Ambati Rayudu to revive the Indian charge. When the chase appeared to be on track, a catastrophic run-out followed by a stirring performance from Ajantha Mendis breathed life into the game. On a surface which kept deteriorating with each over, Kohli conquered the venomous turn and scored a sublime century to carry his team past the finish line. Apart from securing a 5-0 series triumph, India had also registered their 100th victory against Sri Lanka across all three formats.