India captain Virat Kohli on Thursday proved once again that why he is fondly and more correctly called as the 'chase master' in an One-Day International (ODI) game. In the first match of the six-match ODI series, India rode on Kohli's calculated century (112 off 119) to chase down the target of 270 with 27 balls to spare. Following his match-winning knock, former cricketers took to Twitter applauding the brilliance of the right-handed batsman. Among all the plaudits, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar's message was unique as he likened Kohli to a Cheetah.
Earlier, former England captain Michael Vaughan was also impressed with Kohli's temperament while chasing a total and addressed him as "The Greatest chaser the game has ever seen."
Apart from Akhtar and Vaughan, former and present India cricketers too joined the bandwagon to appreciate the India captain's talent.
After a dismal performance in Tests against South Africa, Kohli bounced back in style and made sure that the world does not forget his stellar form in the ODIs.
Adjudged as the Man of the match, Kohli said that the Durban hundred is special as he hadn't scored an ODI hundred in South Africa.
"Yeah it was quite special. We wanted to take the confidence from Jo'Burg to here. We wanted one good partnership. Very very happy for Jinks as well. It is easier to break down the total when you have a number on the board. I like to understand the game. I had never scored an ODI hundred in South Africa. Thus, the celebration," Kohli said in a post-match conference.
After taking a 1-0 lead in the ODI series, India will look to keep the momentum going when they take the host nation for the second ODI on February 4 at Centurion.