Asia Cup 2012 Photos

Virat Kohli: Another great in the making?

March 18, 2012 19:48

Virat Kohli once again proved to be the saviour for Team India. He scored his 11th international hundred to power India to a 6-wicket win against arch-rivals Pakistan in their Asia Cup match in Mirpur.

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Virat Kohli once again proved to be the saviour for Team India. He scored his 11th international hundred to power India to a 6-wicket win against arch-rivals Pakistan in their Asia Cup match in Mirpur.
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Virat became the fastest person to reach 10 centuries in ODIs when he scored 108 against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup. Sachin Tendulkar took 134 games to score 10 centuries meaning Virat has beaten him by more than 50 matches.
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Since making his debut in 2008, Virat Kohli has been a consistent performer for India in the shorter version of the game. Even though his performances have been exceptional, it seems his best is yet to hit the international stage. Here is a look at his career so far.
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Virat Kohli made his mark with his century at Kolkata in December 2009 against Sri Lanka to help India chase down a massive score of 315. It was Kohli's 14th ODI but already his 9th match against the Lankans.
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Virat is the fastest Indian to reach the 1000-run mark. He achieved this feat in 2010. It was to be the start of a purple patch for the young man who went on to average almost 50 that year.
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In 2010, Kohli scored a century against Bangladesh at Dhaka. This made him only the third Indian to score two hundreds in ODIs before turning 22. Kohli enjoys a phenomenal average in all ODIs played in Dhaka.
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With two centuries this year already, Virat has been the mainstay of the Indian middle order. Kohli is the only Indian to have scored back-to-back ODI hundreds twice. He is also the only Indian to score a hundred on his World Cup debut.
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In 80 innings Kohli has 30 scores in excess of 50, a fact that indicates his hunger for runs. Since his introduction to international cricket, he has been unstoppable. Not only has he scored quickly but consistently as well. He has been a match-winner for India and has played a key role in some great victories.
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Playing at number 3, Kohli has formed an effective combination with Gautam Gambhir. They average over 70 and among pairs with two double century partnerships their average is the highest. They currently have three 200-run stands, equalling the tally of the pairing of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar.
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Kohli has the disitnction of featuring in two separate World Cup winning teams. In 2008, he led the Under-19 team to victory and in 2011 he was a member of the senior team that lifted the trophy.
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Kohli is without a doubt the next big thing in Indian Cricket. The fact that India have won 9 times out of 10 when he has gone past a hundred clearly states his importance in the team. With many years left ahead of him, there is every chance of him making it big in international cricket. Kohli is a prospect for the future and a very bright one too.

Kohli's 134-run blitz against Sri Lanka that rejuvenated India in the tri-series in Australia has been placed as one of the best ODI innings by cricket experts.

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