Top five chases by Virat Kohli

BySamarendranath Soory, SportsCafe Editor

11/05/2016

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Virat Kohli is without a doubt the best chaser in the history of limited-overs cricket, having scored 16 ODI hundreds with an astonishing average of 90 while chasing, 14 of them in Indian wins. On the eve of Virat Kohli's 28th birthday, we bring to you the best chases by the dashing batsman.

Virat Kohli and successful chases - in recent times, both these terms have become synonymous with each other. To change the chasing philosophy single-handedly is no mean feat, and to credit Kohli for it is not an exaggeration. While it is expected of the top-order batsmen to score big hundreds now and then while batting first, the knack of mowing down huge targets with relative ease is what makes the Delhi-batman special. The stats speak for themselves when we see that Kohli averages 90.10 in successful run-chases in 58 ODI innings, while the nearest successful chase average is Brian Lara's 68.58. Among the 22 batsmen who have scored at least 2500 runs in successful chases, his average is easily the highest.

5. 100* in 52 balls vs Australia (2nd ODI, Jaipur, 2013)

Whenever the Indian bowlers leak runs, the fans and the media react in some really harsh way. But for this match, thanks to the bowlers for helping us witness one of the biggest run chases in ODI history. Australia posted a huge total of 359/5 in 50 overs with as many as five batsmen scoring fifties sparing none of the Indian bowlers on their way. Chasing 360, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma put up a successful opening partnership of 176 runs inside just 26 overs before Dhawan was dismissed for 95. In came Virat Kohli, to overshadow his partner with his brilliant strokeplay.

The Delhi lad started punishing the Aussie bowlers right from the get go bringing the asking rate from 7.6 to a mere 6.3 runs per over with the first 20 balls he faced. The 50-overs game seemed like a T20 as Kohli reached his half-century off just 27 balls. His blitzkrieg also allowed centurion Rohit Sharma, who was suffering from cramps, to simply enjoy the knock at the other end. Kohli only upped his game after reaching the half-century taking the likes of Mitchell Johnson, James Faulkner and Xavier Doherty to the cleaners. In a span of the next 25 balls, Kohli reached his hundred scoring 8 fours and 7 colossal sixes to achieve the record of fastest ODI ton by an Indian. Eventually, India blew away the target of 360 inside 44 overs and with an astounding nine wickets to spare. This was also the second highest run chase in ODI history at that time, behind South Africa's successful chase of 434 against the Australia in 2006.

4. 108* in 58 vs Rising Pune Supergiants (IPL, Bengaluru, 2016)

"I hope it doesn't prove costly," murmured a miked-up George Bailey after the Australian narrowly missed an opportunity to run Virat Kohli out with his score reading 4. This reaction from Bailey underlines what the opposition goes through when Kohli walks in to chase down a target. The MS Dhoni-led IPL franchise had something to cheer in their otherwise poor IPL campaign when Ajinkya Rahane and Saurabh Tiwary helped Pune reach a strong total of 191 runs in 20 overs.

Chris Gayle was injured, and consequently, in came Virat Kohli alongside KL Rahul to start the chase. With the Pune fielders missing a couple of early run-out chances, Rahul and Kohli accelerated at a rate of 8.5 per over to take the score to 94/0 in 11 overs. That's when Adam Zampa started to make an impact on his IPL debut. The leggie removed KL Rahul and AB de Villiers in quick succession and also troubled Shane Watson with this sharp turning deliveries.

But Kohli remained unperturbed as he raced to a second fifty in the tournament in 31 balls. With some help from Watson, Kohli reduced the equation from 89 runs in 7 overs to 50 runs in the final 5 overs. The RCB captain then went on to score his second IPL hundred by plundering four sixes and a four off Zampa and RP Singh to leave just four runs needed from the final over. He also finished off things in style with a four to end the match with three balls remaining.

3. 133* in 86 balls vs Sri Lanka (Commonwealth-Bank ODI Series, Hobart 2012)

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Virat Kohli's spellbinding innings in the 2012 CB series breathed new life into India's abysmal Australian tour as he decimated one of the finest death bowlers in limited-overs cricket - Lasith Malinga. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara both scored centuries taking Sri Lanka to a huge total of 320 runs on a flat surface in Hobart. Adding spice to the chase, India needed to gun down the impending target inside 40 overs to stay alive in the triangular series.

But making a mockery of the Sri Lankan bowling, Virat Kohli, with some good help from Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina, chased down the target inside 36.4 overs. His innings was so perfect is so many aspects that it drew comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar's desert-storm innings against Australia in Sharjah,1998. It felt like Tendulkar was passing over the torch to Kohli when the latter walked in at 86/2 after Sachin was dismissed by Malinga in the 10th over.

With India carefully crossing the 150-run mark, Kohli took the attacking onus on himself after his 112-run partnership with Gautam Gambhir ended in the 28th over. With 91 required from 10 overs for a bonus point, Kohli shifted gears dispatching Nuwan Kulasekara for three fours in the 31st over. But the best part of the match was when Kohli demolished Lasith Malinga with four boundaries and a six in the 35th also reaching his hundred of the first ball of the over. Malinga was left with his trademark smile after that over, as it reduced the equation to 24 from 5 overs. But Kohli was in a hurry applying the finishing touches with two boundaries in the 37th over sealing an emphatic win for India.

2. 49 in 51 balls vs Pakistan (Asia Cup T20I, Mirpur 2016)

This gem of an innings from Kohli will be soon forgotten just because the stats don't quite tell the entire story of the night in Mirpur. Just like the fiery spell Wahab Riaz bowled to Shane Watson in the 2015 World Cup match, this clash between Asia's bitter rivals will be remembered for the epic battle between Mohammad Amir's reverse swing and Virat Kohli's steely determination. India looked to have another easy victory against their arch-rivals when they restricted Pakistan to a paltry total of 83, but what transpired was something special from Pakistan.

Mohammad Amir sent in two toe-crushers reversing at 145 mph to remove Rohit Sharma with the second ball of the innings, then caught Ajinkya Rahane plumb with another vicious swinging delivery off the fourth ball. With Amir and Mohammad Sami unleashing fire at both ends, Kohli's face bore an expression of immense concentration. He matched Amir's pace with his lightning-quick wrists bringing the bat down to the ball when it rapidly swung inwards and moved the willow in a flash to avoid edges whenever the ball fizzed past his bat. This saw India scoring just 21 runs in the first 6 overs of the mandatory powerplay. With Yuvraj Singh, Kohli guided India closer to the target of 84 before he fell at 76 runs in the 15th over as MS Dhoni finished the match with ease. There were no flashy shots like a typical Kohli innings, no high-scoring overs, but the Indian talisman won the match with his grit and versatility against a pace bowling spell of the highest order.

1. 82* in 51 balls vs Australia (World T20, Mohali 2016)

This masterclass from the Delhi batsman stands tall among the rest just because of the sheer ability with which he turned around the game in the span of 12 balls. With the Super 10 match against Australia being a must-win to progress into the semifinals of the World T20, there was immense pressure on India after their opening-match defeat to New Zealand. India were set a target of 161 after Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and Shane Watson chipped in with vital contributions.

After a decent start from the openers, India were deep in trouble at 50/3 at the end of 8 overs with the required rate climbing up to 9 runs per over. But with Yuvraj Singh gobbling up the balls, the run rate climbed as far 10 with India needing 81 runs from the last 8 overs. With 59 to get from the last 30 balls, Virat Kohli cast a spell with his brilliant batting. Combining with MS Dhoni, Kohli was lightning quick between the wickets converting singles into doubles and scored 12 runs out of 16th over.

But, it felt like India were headed out of the tournament in the next over after Shane Watson gave away just 8 runs of it. However, Kohli swung the game India's way with two fours and an unbelievable six off James Faulkner to reduce the equation to 20 runs from 12 balls. He then dispatched Coulter-Nile for four consecutive fours leaving Dhoni to score 4 runs from the final over. The Indian captain obliged by dispatching the first ball of the final over for a boundary sending the crowd into a tizzy. The sweet dizziness Kohli brought to the fans with that knock will stay on for years and can be bettered only by the man himself in the future. Wish you a Happy Birthday, Virat!