Kohli stamps his class as chase-master

Virat Kohli is the ultimate batsman in the world when it comes to chasing a big target. His consistency and the method to his batsmanship are unprecedented. In the first ODI against England in Pune and in his first match as full-time captain across all formats, Kohli put on an exhibition as he slammed yet another century in a huge chase.

Kohli notched up his 27th ODI century while Kedar Jadhav smashed his second century in ODIs. Their 200-run partnership helped India chase down a total of 350-plus for the third time in the last three years in ODIs in India. During the course of his brilliant knock, Kohli broke some records and sealed his reputation as one of the great chasers.

This was Kohli’s 17th century in an ODI chase, levelling Sachin Tendulkar’s mark. However, this was his 15th century in a successful run-chase, breaking Tendulkar’s previous record of 14. During the course of his knock, Kohli’s average while chasing went up to 90.9 - the highest for any batsman with minimum 2500 runs in successful chases. In the last couple of seasons, Kohli has been India’s prime weapon when they have wanted to chase down a big total. During the 2013 series against Australia, he slammed a 52-ball 100 to help India chase down 360 in Jaipur. In the same series at Nagpur, Kohli slammed another ton to help India chase down 351.

His highest score in ODIs (183) came against Pakistan in Mirpur when India successfully chased down 329. In fact, Kohli’s first big impression came when he smashed 133 off 86 balls in the Hobart ODI against Sri Lanka where India chased down 321 in under 40 overs .