Guwahati (Assam) [India], September 29 (ANI): After setting the stage at Thiruvananthapuram on fire with a sixy 88-ball 139*, Indian batting icon Virat Kohli will be aiming to continue his red-hot ODI streak during the second West Indies clash at Assam, a state where the talismanic number three enjoys an incredible record.
After accomplishing a double of 15,000 ODI runs and the 86th international century with a chase masterclass at Keralam, Virat will set his eyes on a series-winning knock, preferably a century for his legion of fans in Assam.
Virat has featured in three ODIs at Assam, having scored centuries in all of them. In three matches here, the 37-year-old has scored 358 runs at an average of 119.33 and a strike rate of 120.13, with a best score of 140. All of these centuries have come in vastly different timelines of his career.
The first one of those came against New Zealand back in November 2010, when the tag of 'Chasemaster' was not attached to his name and the pressure of carrying hopes of a billion hearts was not known to a 22-year-old Virat. Contributing 105 in 104 balls, with 10 fours to a team total of 278, where Yuvraj Singh (42) was the second-best batter, Virat played a crucial role in India's 40-run win.
Virat won a 'Player of the Match' award for his knock during this match, which was the last-ever ODI to be hosted by Guwahati's Nehru Stadium.
From there on, this brash, cocky and unapologetic youngster transformed into an all-format run-machine over the years, with the ODI cricket being the engine of Virat's decade-long dominance in the 2010s.
His next Guwahati ton came against the West Indies back in 2018, with the Barsapara Stadium now serving as a primary cricket venue in the state. This was also the year where Virat treated world cricket to some peak ODI batting, averaging a mind-boggling 133.55 that year across 14 matches, which included six centuries and three fifties. Among these centuries was the glittering 107-ball 140* at this venue, laced with 21 fours and two sixes while successfully chasing a total of 323 runs, taking home the 'POTM' award. During the course of that five-match ODI series, Virat would also go on to complete a hat-trick of tons.
Something broke in the 2020s after years of relentless run-scoring and superhuman consistency. With cricket shut off due to COVID-19 pandemic, the engine had started to rust a bit for Virat, as he struggled to score an international century for three years after 2019.
After a breakthrough 71st ton in Asia Cup at Dubai, Virat spent the remainder of 2022 shaking off the rust, peeling out some gems, including an immortalised 82* against Pakistan during T20 WC 2022 at Melbourne in a tough 160-run chase and scoring his first ODI ton in three years.
Virat started the year 2023, the final year of his cross-format greatness, with an 87-ball 113 against Sri Lanka, laced with 12 fours and a six, taking him the 'POTM' honours yet again. India made a match-winning total of 373/7. The tone was set for an incredible year for Virat, which saw him score 1,377 runs across 27 ODIs including six centuries and eight fifties, including a record-breaking 765-run Cricket World Cup at home, where he also surpassed his idol Sachin Tendulkar for most ODI centuries with an 117-run knock at Wankhede Stadium against New Zealand in semis. Virat's Test form was also picked up in the later half of 2023, as he top-scored for India with 671 runs in eight Tests with two centuries and fifties.
Now, Virat comes to Guwahati as a force liberated from scrutiny around his strike rate in T20s and the dread of edging an outside off-stump delivery to the slips/keeper in whites. Despite having retired from Test cricket on a heartbreaking note, Virat has enjoyed an extraordinarily rich run in limited-overs cricket in 2020s, with two back-to-back IPL titles, a T20 World Cup, a record-breaking 50-over World Cup, a Champions Trophy title and plenty of individual honours across these tournaments.
All that Virat has left for offering his fans is one last ODI blitz till the 2027 World Cup, which the cricketing world hopes would conclude with a World Cup trophy in his hands and a record of 100 international centuries attached to his name.
Since the last time Virat was there at Guwahati back in 2023, he has gone from being 34 to 37 years of age. His ODI stat-sheet post 35 years of age shows a glow many would kill for even in their prime: 1,555 runs in 27 innings, an average of 70.68, and a strike rate of 100.51, including seven centuries and nine fifties. No one except for England's Harry Brook (30 sixes in 18 innings) has hit more ODI sixes since the 2025 Champions Trophy than his 28 maximums in 11 innings.
In seven matches and innings in ODIs this year, Virat has scored 523 runs at an average of 87.16 and a strike rate of over 116, including two centuries and three fifties. Could he make it a third century this year and a quartet of Guwahati epics in his career's final chapter as an ODI-exclusive legend? (ANI)
Guwahati, Chapter 4: 'King' Kohli eyes quartet of ODI tons in Assam during second WI clash
