Credit: ICC
On February 28, 2012, Virat Kohli racked up his ninth ODI century and helped India claim a seven-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in the 11th game of the Commonwealth Bank Series 2011-12 played at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. India were required to chase down the massive target of 321 runs within 40 overs to gain a bonus point against Sri Lanka, and keep their hopes alive for making it to the finals. After winning the toss, India captain MS Dhoni invited Sri Lanka to bat first. Following captain Mahela Jayawardene’s early departure in the 12th over of the match, Sri Lanka dominated the game as veterans Tilakaratne Dilshan and Kumara Sangakkara clobbered Indian bowlers mercilessly. Both batters stitched a 200-run stand for the second wicket in just 189 balls.
In the 44th over of the match, Praveen Kumar cleaned up Sangakkara and handed the second wicket to the Men in Blue. However, Dilshan batted with a ruthless approach and went back to the dugout with his unbeaten 160 off 165. Following the colossal score of 320/4, India received a superb start from their openers Sachin Tendulkar (39 off 30) and Virender Sehwag (30 off 16). After the dismissal of both openers, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli built a 115-run partnership off 109 deliveries. The southpaw got run out while stealing a run in the 28th over.
Watch the video of Virat Kohli's special in Hobart here:
Virat Kohli notched up his ninth ODI ton versus Sri Lanka in Hobart
After Gambhir’s return to the pavilion, Kohli stood at the crease and played some excellent strokes against bowlers. The right-handed batter brought his century in just 75 balls in the 35th over of the match. Kohli took Lasith Malinga to the cleaners and collected 24 runs from the pacer’s seventh over with a maximum and four fours.
Malinga returned to bowl his next over and this time, Kohli hit a couple of boundaries and took India home in just 36.4 overs. His amazing knock (unbeaten 133 off 86) helped India register a convincing seven wicket victory and stay alive in the competition. But after two more days, Sri Lanka went on to beat Australia by nine runs in the 12th game of the tri-series and also qualified for the finals along with the hosts.
