[Watch] When 'Peak' Virat Kohli Thrashed South Africa To Slam His 34th ODI Ton
When Kohli made 160* in Cape Town [X.com]
The third ODI from India's memorable 2018 tour of South Africa in Cape Town holds a special place in Virat Kohli's illustrious career as the modern-day legend produced arguably his finest One-Day Internationals ton at the Newlands.
Of all of Kohli's celebrated 50 ODI hundreds in his favourite format, the Cape Town classic, where he smashed 160 not out off 159 deliveries, remains etched in cricket lovers' hearts and memories. Batting through the innings at his end, the legend reinforced his greatness and helped India post a winning score of 303/6.
On a challenging surface that caused problems for the rest of the Indian batting, only opener Shikhar Dhawan, who enjoyed facing the new ball, could establish himself in the middle and plunder an influential knock of 76 off 63. Once Dhawan departed, no one barring Kohli found it easy to connect the ball sweetly on a dry surface.
When Kohli Bossed Cape Town With Memorable Ton
Once the new-ball effect wore off, no other Indian batter reached 20 while Kohli stayed firm and flourished at his end. The stalwart batter hit 12 fours and 2 sixes in the middle while retaining his unmatched stroke-rotation abilities as he once again aced a One-Day International and recorded his 34th century in the format.
It was a headline knock of a prolific series for Kohli, who was undergoing a sustained peak between 2016 and 2019 at the time. The veteran batter and Indian skipper struck three centuries and produced a tally of 558 runs in a historic 5-1 series win for his team, India's first bilateral ODI series win in South Africa.
During that three-year reign, Kohli outbatted everyone else in the 50-over version and averaged 80.98 with a strike-rate of 99.27 for his 4,778 runs, including 20 centuries in 76 matches.
 "Kashish Chadha")
