Virat Kohli's 3 best knocks in the Asia Cup
Virat Kohli will be 38 at the time of the 2027 ODI World Cup. Despite being one of the fittest cricketers of his generation, there's a decent chance he won't be good enough to be a part of that Indian squad.
His T20I spot is doubtful, with India looking at their glut of fresh blood, while the World Test Championship (WTC) is a capricious tournament with just one all-deciding final after home and away series against different teams spread over two years.
ODI is his format and the 2023 World Cup on home soil thus feels a bit more important for him than all of his teammates. Kohli has always spoken about not having points to prove but the upcoming four months feel like one for him to show beyond doubt that he is in fact, the greatest of all time.
It all starts with the 2023 Asia Cup on September 2. The tournament has been a big part of his rise.
Here's a look at the top three of his knocks in the ODI edition:
#3 108 vs Sri Lanka, 2012
This was the time when Kohli and Gautam Gambhir's partnerships were dominating the top order for India.
It started in the previous year's five-match ODI series against New Zealand at home where Gambhir stood in as captain for MS Dhoni. While the left-handed batter made his mark as skipper, Kohli cemented his place in the middle order.
Still in the 2012 Asia Cup, Kohli was named the vice-captain (a sign of things to come?) instead of Gambhir because of his excellent form in the leadup to the tournament. It could've caused tensions but both Delhites showed that responsibility, or the snatching away of it, brought the best out of them.
In the second match of the tournament, Kohli scored 108 (120) and Gambhir 100 (118). Both players collected seven boundaries each, making most of the runs with their exceptional sprints between the wickets against the tight lines from Sri Lanka.
Kohli showed some sumptuous cover drives and hit other boundaries off full tosses or rank-poor deliveries. Both players reached their centuries in the same over and got out in the next over.
"It's always special batting with him," Kohli said after the match, which India won by 50 runs. "We understand each others' games well, we run well between the wickets when together, we know when to step it up and I knew that we could put together another big partnership for India."
This was the duo's third double-century stand in ODIs.
#2 136 vs Bangladesh, 2014
The 2014 Asia Cup in Bangladesh was Kohli's first tournament assignment as the stand-in captain for Dhoni who was ruled out due to an injury.
The then-rebellious youngster had already shown his penchant for upping his game with captaincy with two centuries against West Indies and Zimbabwe and this was no different.
Bangladesh batted and put up a pretty decent 279/7 on the backs of Mushfiqur Rahim's 117 (113). In reply, India lost Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan early. Kohli came at 54/2 and once again played his trademark way - taking his time by showing the full face of the bat and waiting for the bowlers to bowl loose.
Everything on the pads or wide was dispatched to the boundary and by the time the bowlers corrected their lines, he was set enough to cream his cover-drives. In no time, he reached his 100 off 95 balls, soaring to 136 (122). His partnership with Ajinkya Rahane (73 off 83) lifted India to 3-267.
"I am very happy with the team performed," Kohli said after the match. "We bowled well today, there was an improvement in the death overs. Good to see everyone step up in the absence of MS Dhoni. I always thank my dad every time I achieve something. He worked very hard to help me get where I am."
"It was very important for someone like Ajinkya to bat through the innings - he was playing so well in NZ and SA and he played beautifully here too," he added. "He is a very positive guy - works very hard. So it was good for us to stay together till the end."
India won the match by six wickets but didn't make it to the finals, which Sri Lanka won by defeating Pakistan by five wickets.
#1 183 vs Pakistan, 2012 - Virat Kohli's highest ODI score
Kohli was seen as destined for greatness a long time ago but this knock propelled him into heights that he never looked back from. An India-Pakistan clash is like that, every run here just counts more. And Kohli scored 183 of them. In a chase.
Pakistan had put up a massive 329 on the board. The right-handed batter hadn't done well against them in the three previous outings and they had Saeed Ajmal in the team, someone he had never faced before and later called him "tough" to pick.
When it came to it, Kohli hit Ajmal for six boundaries despite him turning the ball both ways, staying deep in his crease, and finding gaps. He was cautious against Mohammad Hafeez and Shahid Afridi, attacking only the rank bad deliveries, and took on Wahab Riaz for seven fours in just 17 balls.
Kohli batted at almost run-a-ball in the first 40 overs, building a brilliant partnership with Sachin Tendulkar. He reached his century off 97 balls before going all out in the last 10 overs, hitting his next 83 runs off just 51 balls to reach 183 (148). He hit just one six in the innings, against Umar Gul and as many as 22 boundaries.
"I hadn't done too well against Pakistan, played thrice before," he said after the match. "Even in the World Cup semi-final, I got out and I was really disappointed. Playing against them is always a high-pressure game, all eyes are on that game. It is really satisfying to chase down a big score in a crunch game for us."
Once Sachin got out, Kohli built a brilliant 172-run partnership with Rohit. Though he fell in the 48th over, he had given India enough to chase 331.
"I am a big fan of Rohit Sharma's batting," Kohli said. "When he plays a long innings, he is a treat to watch. It is an absolute pleasure to bat alongside him."
Kohli later said he thought about the 200-run mark "once" before shifting his focus back to the match.
Kohli became the third Indian captain with 183 as his highest ODI score and having helped the team chase its highest ODI target at the time, the tag of "chase-master" stuck with him. It was a st also became clear he was the No. 3 India needed.