King Kohli's century drought in ODI chases continues

It's been four long years since Kohli scored a hundred while chasing

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Virat Kohli reacts after his dismissal in the third ODI against Australia on Wednesday. — X

By Anis Sajan

Published: Thu 28 Sep 2023, 12:28 AM

Virat Kohli has been the greatest chase master in ODI history, having scored 26 hundreds while chasing a target with India winning 22 of those games.

This is a record in itself and no player in the world is even closer to him. He is also on the verge of breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI hundreds.

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One of the most challenging things in cricket is pulling off a successful run chase and Kohli has been a master at it.

He single-handedly pulled off a tricky chase against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup last year after India were down and out.

There was a time when India used to falter at the finish line whenever they were set a big target, but it all changed when King Kohli bucked the trend with his great art of chasing.

While Kohli has carved a niche for himself as the master of chases, his last hundred while chasing a target came in August 2019 against West Indies.

It's been four long years since he scored a hundred while chasing.

There was also a drought of hundreds across formats from Kohli for more than two years until he broke the jinx by scoring a T20 ton against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup last year.

Since then, Kohli has made one Test century and four ODI tons. But all his hundreds in the ODI format have come while batting first.

On Wednesday against Australia in the third ODI, Kohli had a chance to get a match-winning hundred when India were chasing 353.

But he fell for 56 after making a bright start

Now the World Cup (October 5-November 19) will offer Kohli the ideal chance to hit top gear while chasing.

Indian fans will hope that King Kohli can rediscover his mojo while chasing a target in the big tournament and help India end their ICC trophy drought.

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Anis Sajan

Published: Thu 28 Sep 2023, 12:28 AM

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