India continued their unbeaten run in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, as they defeated Bangladesh by 7 wickets in Pune to make it four wins from four matches.
Bangladesh posted 256/8 on the board after opting to bat first with openers Litton Das (66) and Tanzid Hasan (51) scoring half-centuries. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets apiece for India.
In perfect batting conditions, India had no difficulty in chasing down the target as they won with 7 wickets in hand and 51 balls remaining. Virat Kohli (103*) scored his 48th ODI century, while Rohit Sharma (48), Shubman Gill (53), and KL Rahul (34*) played some attractive shots.
There was some drama at the end with India needing 26 runs to win and Kohli on 74*. With the game all but secured, the right-hander decided to take a chance for his milestone and eventually achieved it along with the target for India, hitting a six to bring up both the things.
It wasn't as straightforward though, as he and Rahul planned how to go about it, denying few singles along the way which raised few eyebrows on social media, but the team members were seen enjoying the final moments of the game.
Rahul later told Star Sports that it was he who told Virat to not worry about not taking singles and just go for his third century in World Cups, despite Virat himself being unsure at how it will be perceived on the outside.
Rahul said, "He (Virat Kohli) was confused actually, he said 'it would not look too nice to not take singles, it's still a World Cup, it's still a big stage and I don't want to look like I am trying to get the milestone'.
"I said 'it's not won, but I mean we will still this very easily. If you can get to the milestone, you must try'. And he did that in the end,"
"I played a huge role in making it very interesting. When I walked in, there were still enough runs to get and I thought I would play a few shots and got a few more boundaries than I would have liked," Rahul added.
"Personally, it was good, but Kohli was nearing his hundred, it got really close. When there were 30 runs left, I said I will just block the ball and take singles and try and give you a strike. He did say in the end that I made it look too close for comfort," Rahul said before signing off.
(With Star Sports inputs)
