Virat Kohli got in early at the crease as the openers fell in the first ten overs, and India's best batsman cashed-in, scoring a wonderful century in Chennai in the 4th ODI against South Africa.
Kohli got his first half-century of the Freedom Series in the previous one-day international in Rajkot, but that one was an innings he will not look back on too fondly.
This knock, worth 138 (140b, 6x4, 1x6), though, was vintage Kohli – filled with touch, timing and power as he grew in confidence with every run. The drives were there, so were the flicks and pulls, but what stood out the most was those lofted drives straight back past the bowler, with Kohli getting to his hundred with one of those glorious shots, which cleared the boundary with ease.
The century, which helped India finish on 299/7 in 50 overs, was also a way for Kohli to show that there should not be any doubt on who should bat at No.3. Kohli is India's main man with the willow, and he should be the one who comes in at the fall of the first wicket.
In reply to the India total, Kohli's RCB teammate AB De Villiers played an innings to remember, like only he can, but even "Superman" cannot do it all alone, he needs the Justice League every once in a while.
Unfortunately for De Villiers, his Justice League just did not show up today, and South Africa fell short by 35 runs, despite the great man's brilliant 112 (107b, 10x4, 2x6).
Earlier, Ajinkya Rahane (45, 53b, 4x4), who came in at the fall of Shikhar Dhawan's wicket, batted really well, showing he does have the nous to bat at No.4, and his partnership worth 104 with Kohli for the third wicket was vital for India, when at one point they were in a bit of trouble on 35/2.
As well as Rahane played, Kohli was the lead act by some distance, entertaining the crowd in Chennai with every boundary that flowed off his bat.
Once Rahane fell, Suresh Raina (53, 52b, 3x4, 1x6) was sent in, with MS Dhoni deciding to hold himself back, and that worked wonders as well, as the left-hander, playing at his home IPL ground, found his mojo as well to help India to a big total alongside Kohli.
If the first century partnership in this innings for India was about rebuilding and consolidation, the second was about aggression, with both players producing some outstanding shots to and over the fence.
This is what everyone expected from the India batsmen before the series started, and even if the momentum was sapped a little bit towards the end of the innings, the home team will be a lot more satisfied with this innings than any other so far in this ODI series.
Get the Highlights of the 4th one-day international, including Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers' hundreds, HERE and HERE
