Virat Kohli’s hat-trick of tons in vain, but still creates unique record

Virat Kohli seems to be creating records whenever he step on to the field. In Vizag, he broke a flood of records which left fans in shock and awe. In the Pune ODI, the Indian skipper continued to shatter records but his knock was not enough as India lost the game by 43 runs to a determined West Indies side.

However, Kohli achieved a unique distinction during his knock. His knock in Pune made him the only player in which three consecutive centuries had resulted in three different results. In Guwahati, India won the match while in Vizag, they tied the game.

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The Pune chase involved Kohli in a run-chase and he once again showed his mastery. His 107 was the 23^rd century while chasing in an ODI, the most-ever. His tally of 6139 runs puts him behind only Tendulkar, who has 8720 runs. However, this was only the third time that a team lost when Kohli scored a hundred in a chase.

Apart from the Pune loss, India’s first loss when Kohli hit a ton in a chase was in Napier, New Zealand in 2014 when he blasted 118. The second loss came in Australia when his 106 off 92 balls did not help India cross the line in a high-scoring match in Canberra.

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Kohli’s knock of 107 was his 38^th century in ODIs and he is now just 12 away from shattering Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 49 ODI centuries. The Pune century was Kohli’s fourth consecutive in ODIs played in India. Before the Pune knock, Kohli had scores of 113,140* and 157* against New Zealand in Kanpur 2017 and in the previous two games against West Indies.

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In his last 10 bilateral series, Kohli has scored at least one hundred in eight out of 10 series, a testament to his consistency. The only series where he did not score a hundred was in England in 2018 and against Australia at home in 2017.

Heading into the next match at the Brabourne stadium, Kohli would be hoping to create more history and ensure India take an unbeatable lead in the series.