183- VIRAT KOHLI
vs. Pakistan, Dhaka, 2012
An Asia Cup classic match between rivals India and Pakistan and emergence of the Virat Kohli we know today. The 5th match of the 2012 Asia Cup was played between the arch rivals at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.
Misbah, the Pakistani skipper won the toss and chose to bat first on a belter of a track. Pakistani openers Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Hafeez made merry on the beautiful pitch by scoring hundreds each. Jamshed made 112 in 104 balls and Hafeez scored 105 in 113 balls and the duo added 224 runs for the first wicket in 36 overs. This gave Pakistan a platform to launch for a big score and Younis Khan made 52 in just 34 balls to take his team to a mountain like 329/6 in 50 overs.
India needed someone to come good in this chase, and when Gautam Gambhir was dismissed for the second ball of the innings, the task became tougher. The little master Sachin Tendulkar was there, and he was joined by Virat Kohli, who had earlier made his name for his brutal 133* against Sri Lanka in the VB series in Australia, where he helped India chase down 300 plus runs in 30 odd overs in a do or die match.
Kohli showed glimpses of that brutality on Pakistani bowlers as he began his methodical chase with the master guiding him. Tendulkar was dismissed for 52 runs after adding 133 runs with Kohli and Rohit Sharma joined him in the middle.
Kohli then took the initiative and hit every Pakistani bowler to all parts of the ground. Wahab Riaz came for some special punishment, as he went for 50 runs in his 4 overs and never bowled again in the innings. Kohli scored his 100 off 97 balls and 150 off 131 balls as he guided India to a famous win.
He was finally dismissed for 183 off 148 balls with 22 fours and 1 six, leaving India at 318, with 12 runs to win. Rohit supported him with a brilliant 62 himself and added 172 runs for the 3rd wicket.
Kohli celebrated his hundred with zeal and enthusiasm and India reached the target with 13 balls to spare and won the match by 6 wickets chasing 329 to win. This happened all thanks to the brilliance and aggression of Virat Kohli, who won the Man of the match award for his 183.
183 remains Virat Kohli’s highest individual score in ODIs and the highest score by a batsman in Asia Cup history.
Here is the video of the innings:
