IND vs NZ: Virat Kohli stands tall for India, hits 85th career hundred
His hundred came in just 91 deliveries which consisted of him switching gears at times to try and stable things for the side.
Shashwat Nishant New Delhi Virat Kohli stands as a lone warrior for Team India as he scores his 85th career hundred for his nation during the 3rd ODI against New Zealand on Sunday in Indore. His 54th ODI century as the talisman is now India's final hope in the mammoth 338-run chase on the night.
His hundred came in just 91 deliveries which consisted of him switching gears at times to try and stable things for the side. On a night where no other Indian batter seemed calm and composed enough, it was Kohli who tried to build partnerships and hit boundaries whenever the required run rate seemed to creep up.
| Virat Kohli career stats |
| Span | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 0s | 4s | 6s |
| 2008-2026 | 559 | 626 | 92 | 28194 | 254* | 52.79 | 35422 | 79.59 | 85 | 146 | 40 | 2770 | 321 |
8 boundaries and 2 sixes during the course of his hundred showed his attacking intent and kept India in the game even at the loss of 6 wickets. Kohli is also the player with most hundreds across formats against New Zealand.
Nitish Reddy did support Kohli's knock and got to his own half century in the process. However, he too had to walk back after being dismissed on 53 runs.
With Virat eventually losing his wicket at 124 runs, his 54th ODI ton eventually went in vain as New Zealand registered their first ever ODI series win on Indian soil on the night with a 2-1 win.
Phillips-Mitchell star for the Kiwis Centuries from both Glenn Phillips and Daryll Mitchell made sure that the early loss of wickets for NZ didn't affect their total in the end as they helped the Kiwis post a mammoth 337/8 in their 50 overs on the night. The extra runs eventually did the job for the visitors as they got a 41-run win in the 3rd ODI.