Indian captain Virat Kohli may not have scored a century in this series, but as has been the case right through his illustrious career, the right-handed batsman has tossed another record by the wayside. He scored 60 in the third match of ODI series against New Zealand and in the process became the fifth Indian batsman to hit a minimum of 100 fifty-plus scores in List A cricket (domestic and international 50-over matches).
He has now joined an elite list of cricketers, which is already populated by Indian legends in Sachin Tendulkar (174 scores), Rahul Dravid (133), Sourav Ganguly (128), and MS Dhoni (101).
Kohli-Rohit stand gets the job done
The chase of 244 was never going to be taxing and once Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma dug in to forge a 100-run partnership for the 2nd wicket, the chase became an absolute stroll in the park. This was their 16th century stand and 27th fifty-plus stand together. They now have the second most century stands by an Indian pair after the iconic duo of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar.
Rohit Sharma, after a watchful start, broke free and took the attack to the Kiwi bowlers. In the process, he equalled MS Dhoni's record for the most sixes in ODIs by an Indian player. With two sixes in this match, he now has 215 sixes to his name.
Mohammed Shami has been brilliant on this tour and after the success in Test cricket in Australia, his form with the white ball has been refreshing. He picked up his second man of the match award of the series on Monday, January 28, and thus became the only Indian bowler to win two man of the match awards in New Zealand.
"It's really difficult to bowl against the wind. One comes with the wind and the other is against the wind. It is difficult but not too hard. Bhuvi at the other end was also a great help. Sticking to areas where we want to bowl is the key," Shami said at the post-match presentation.
