Virat Kohli completes 1000 ODI runs in 2017, equals Ricky Ponting with 30 tons

IANS

New Delhi: India skipper Virat Kohli played another master innings in the fifth and final One-Day International match against Sri Lanka at Premadasa Stadium, today as Team India completed a historic whitewash in the ODI series. His elegant 116-ball 110 added up his ODI century tally to 30, thereby equalling the mark set by Aussie great Ricky Ponting.

Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka put forth a modest total of 238 runs. After squandering to 63 at the loss of three within the first powerplay, Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne played a match-reviving 122-run stand for the fourth wicket to bolster their score to 185 runs. But Bhuvneshwar Kumar scalped his maiden five-wicket haul in ODI cricket finishing with his career-best 5/42 to restrict the hosts to yet another modest total.

En route to 239, Team India lost both their openers Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma well with the first powerplay. But Virat combined with Manish Pandey to stitch an applauding 99-run partnership to revive India's score to 128 runs. After the latter's dismissal, he stitched a match-winning 133-run stand for the fourth wicket to cruise the Indian ship past the modest run-mark of 239.

Skipper Virat Kohli once again displayed his brilliancy with the willow as he notched up his 30th ODI century, thus equalling Aussie great Ricky Ponting's tally of 30. He thus stands second alongside the legend, with still 19 centuries behind table-topper Sachin Tendulkar (49). However, what Kohli can brag about is that, he achieved the feat in 186 innings, while Tendulkar had reached the same mark of 30 ODI hundreds in 267 innings and Ponting in 349.

Adding to his praise, he equalled the record of former India skipper Sourav Ganguly in the list of most overseas centuries by Indian players in ODIs. Both have 18 such knocks under their name while leading the chart is Master Blaster with 29 such centuries. Virat also equalled Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene's record of 18 international centuries by Asian captains. Both sit atop on that list.

En route to his 30th ODI ton, Virat also managed to become the first batsman to cross the 1000-run mark in ODIs for the year 2017. And this puts him alongside former skippers Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the list of Indian Indian captains with 1000-plus runs in a calendar year in ODIs. Apart from that, he also became the first player to amass 300-plus runs in five different bilateral ODI series.

The 28-year-old with his blistering 110, equalled the record set by Sachin Tendulkar is notching up most centuries against Sri Lanka. Both have eight hundred to their name. But the Master Blaster still leads the chart for most ODI ton against an opposition. Sachin has nine such knocks in his illustrious career, all against the formidable Australian team.

Interestingly, on the other hand, the skipper broke on of Sachin's old record at Premadasa. Kohli now has a hat-trick of centuries at Colombo while Sachin along with Sanath Jayasuriya and Gibbs had two to their name.

Team India will now gear up for the one-off T20I encounter to be played at the same stadium, on September 6.