Dazzling Kohli ton keeps India alive
An imperious display of strokemaking by Virat Kohli powered an Indian fightback conspicuous in its absence recently, made a mockery of an imposing score and kept India's finals hopes alive
An imperious display of strokemaking by Virat Kohli powered an Indian fightback conspicuous in its absence recently, made a mockery of an imposing score and kept India's finals hopes alive
Scorer: Sanjay Murari | Commentator: Nitin Sundar
That about completes our live coverage for this game, but Sid Monga will have a lot of presser news, analysis and comment coming in soon. Do hang around for that, and while you wait, here's Sid Talya's report. While you wait, sit back, close your eyes and replay that Kohli cover drive off Malinga again and again in your mind. Sublime. This is Nitin Sundar, signing off from ESPNcricinfo's commentary tab, for the last time. You have been a fantastic audience, and bringing this game to you has been a privilege. Goodbye and good luck!
The CB series table is crowding again, with one game to go. India and SL are now tied on points at 15, but the latter can go one better on Friday. They will have to, else India will play Australia (19 points) in the final.
The Man of the Match is Kohli: "To be able to chase 320 in 40 overs in a must win game, and put that sort of a batting effort together was a great team effort. I committed a few mistakes in the last games after getting to 20 and 30, trying to middle every ball, which doesn't happen always in international cricket. This shows our character as a team, and how well we can execute our plans. It is about working hard and sticking in there. We will be rooting for Australia in Friday. This is a special feeling, probably my best one-day innings so far."
Dhoni: "This was some of the best ODI cricket I have been a part of. When you need 321 off 40, you need a good start. You need the quantity, but the quality ... We wanted to keep them down to 250, maximum 270.. We knew we had the firepower, but still 320 was more than we could digest. But once we got that start, we knew we could kick on. We are going on a couple of days of shopping, and some practice at the same time. Its not in our hands now."
Mahela: "You can't do much when they bat like that.. Virat played out of his skin on a true pitch. It was the first off day for our bowlers in the tournament, so fair enough. It wasn't just Kohli, it was also the way the others batted around him. Our qualification is still in our hands, which is great. Hope we come back from this and win in Melbourne."
321 off 40 overs is one thing. Finishing it off in 36.4 is quite another. And that too after losing Tendulkar and Sehwag for relatively few. And that too at the fag end of a summer full of disappointment and discontent. An asking rate so ridiculous that it bordered on the impossible brought something out of India that hasn't been seen overseas from the moment Zaheer Khan pulled his hamstring on the first day of the Lord's Test. This team is capable of pulling off outrageous feats when they are clicking, and boy - have they clicked. This is an epochal moment in India's ODI cricket history. Keep an eye out for that man Virat Kohli. He's going to topple some batting records along the way.
Sri Lanka won't know what's hit them. This is an absolute train-wreck of a defence. To come out and take this pounding after scoring 320 against a ragged bowling attack ... Mind you, they weren't playing defensive, but were forced to take cover by India's turbo-charged batting.
Time to remind everyone that India are not yet in the final. A Sri Lankan win, or a tie, or a wash-out in the final league game will take Sri Lanka ahead of India on points. If Australia win that match, India will go through though they are tied with SL on points. India are 2-1 up on SL on head-to-head now, with one tie.
"Tell the Americans! This is why we are world champions!" says Rahul Malhotra.
Trust @sidin to point out that "Every time Shastri is locked in a lift India wins."
"Hoping that Dilshan scores another 160 on Friday," says Teja, clearly an India fan.
Wonder how Australia will approach the last game now. They have found Sri Lanka unbeatable recently, but India's just shown them how it is done.
"Sachin waited for around 50 ODIs and 4 tours to get his first one day hundred in Australia. Kohli did it in 8th ODI in his first tour. What a player for the present and the future he is going to be." Comparisons with Sachin can wait, Vivekraj, but you have made a good point there.
"Amidst all this carnage, spare a thought for Dilshan! Pity him. 2 of his highest scores, both against India and both lost," points out Venkat..
The winner in ESPNcricinfo's fan bracket to decide Virat Kohli's best ODI hundred
At the tail-end of a tour that had produced nothing but misery, one young man gave his side something to smile about
Virat Kohli put on an imperious display of strokemaking, his malleable wrists powering an Indian fightback conspicuous by its absence on what had been, until now, two forgettable overseas trips
Sri Lanka's captain erred in his use of Lasith Malinga and in the timing of his Powerplay
Towards the end of a long and failure-filled tour, India managed to lift themselves and conjure a scarcely believable victory