The tale was all too familiar. India were in a spot of bother after losing openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma early, but skipper Virat Kohli soothed his team’s nerves before shutting the door on any slender hopes the opposition had of mounting a comeback. This was the case at Durban on Thursday, where India took a 1-0 lead in the six-match One-day International series against South Africa.
This was Kohli’s 20th century while chasing and his 33rd overall. Records continued to tumble like nine pins as the No 1-ranked ODI batsman, along with teammate Ajinkya Rahane, motored along with consummate ease to the 270-run target set by South Africa.
Rahane’s serene knock also came in for a lot of praise, as yet another day passed by with fans scratching their heads, wondering why the Mumbai batsman was dropped for the first two Tests. Here’s a pick of how Twitter lorded over the Indian captain:
Statisticians huffed and puffed at the end of Kohli’s knock:
Virat Kohli (in 41 inngs) has equalled Sourav Ganguly's record (in 142 inngs) for most ODI hundreds by an Indian captain. #SAvIND
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) February 1, 2018
INDIA ended:
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) February 1, 2018
Record 16 consecutive Test wins of Australia in 2001 and 2008
Record 9 consecutive Test series wins of Australia in 2008
South Africa’s 20-match ODI streak without a defeat in 2005 (2nd longest)
Record 17 consecutive ODI wins at home of South Africa*#SAvIND
Most ODI wins after first 44 ODIs as captain....
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) February 2, 2018
34 - Ricky Ponting (lost 8)
34 - Virat Kohli (lost 9)
34 - Clive Lloyd (lost 10)#SAvInd
Virat Kohli's ability to score centuries is mind boggling, taking into account that batting has been easier in this era. it's still ridiculous. He scores a century every 5.9 innings, the average top 7 batsman since Kohli made his debut has scored a century ever 23.5 innings.
— Clive (@vanillawallah) February 1, 2018
Then, the praise for Kohli (and Rahane) began.
100 Number 33 for the Modern Master. King of chases Worldwide @imVkohli . India have cruised along #IndvSA
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) February 1, 2018
Rahane’s contribution at the other end must be appreciated too...I feel that Kohli’s presence brings the best out of him. Happened a lot in Tests too. #SAvIND
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 2, 2018
Congratulations India. Very well done. A great start to the series. Very happy for Rahane. #INDvSA
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 1, 2018
Coming to a stage where teams would choose to field every time they win the toss against India. #INDvSA
— Gaurav Sundararaman (@gaurav_sundar) February 1, 2018
Yet another run chase ✓
— Srini Mama 💲 (@SriniMama16) February 1, 2018
Yet another ODI ton ✓
Please let me know if you have got new adjectives to describe Kohli's genius in a run chase that hasn't been used already. I bet you won't find one. Instead, just bow down to the king and go to sleep. #IndvSA
Former England captain Michael Vaughan perhaps summed it up the best:
He is at is again .. The Greatest chaser the game has ever seen .. #Fact #SAvIND @imVkohli
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 1, 2018
When I grow up I want to be Virat Kohli batting in an ODI run chase.
— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) February 1, 2018
Virat Kohli is simply, and by a distance, the best all-format batsman in the world.
— Sambit Bal (@sambitbal) February 1, 2018
Was a matter of time before Kohli got that century in South Africa. This has been an innings of total command. Absolute one-day perfection
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 1, 2018
#Chasemaster #ViratKohli in a zone of his own,supreme composure and a clear mind while chasing,only one close to his Batting class has been #AB on this tour..#SAvsIND
— subramani badrinath (@s_badrinath) February 2, 2018
Congratulations India on a very comprehensive victory. While Kohli and Rahane were outstanding, Chahal and Kuldeep ‘s spell was a big difference as well. #INDvSA
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) February 1, 2018