India’s 3 Most Iconic ODI Matches Under Captain Virat Kohli

BCCI has picked opening batsman Rohit Sharma as the next ODI captain of Team India, bringing an end to an era of Indian cricket under Virat Kohli. The decision comes a month after Rohit took over as the T20I captain. That means Kohli will no longer lead India in limited-overs cricket, but his statistics as an ODI captain are second to none.

India has won 15 of the 19 bilateral ODI series under Virat Kohli’s leadership. At home, the Men in Blue have won eight of the nine bilateral series. Virat has led India in 95 One-Day Internationals since taking over as captain in 2013, winning 65 and losing 27. Notably, among all Indian ODI captains who have led the team in more than 10 matches, Kohli has the highest win percentage (70.43).

In this piece, we will look at India’s three most iconic ODI matches under the leadership of Virat Kohli:

#3 India vs England- 2nd ODI 2017, Cuttack

The Indian team was full of confidence after winning the first ODI of the series at Pune, but they were reduced to 25/3 in the fifth over of the second match of the series while batting first. After that, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni put on a 256-run fourth-wicket stand to get India out of trouble. India eventually reached a mammoth total of 382 runs in 50 overs. Dhoni scored 134 off 122 deliveries, while Yuvraj hammered 150 off 127 balls. Yuvraj’s 150 was his first in ODI cricket, while Dhoni’s century was his first since 2013.

Pictured in Cuttack….England trying to keep a lid on Yuvraj and Dhoni's scoring… #ImgPlay pic.twitter.com/3OcHBzT2TQ

— Rory Dollard (@thervd) January 19, 2017

England batted admirably in pursuit of the objective, but they were unable to cross the finish line. The game was won by India by a margin of 15 runs. This victory gave India an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

#2 India vs Pakistan- World Cup 2019, Manchester

For fans, there is nothing more exciting than an India-Pakistan match. The Indian team was under a lot of pressure heading into this game since they had lost the ICC Champions Trophy final against them two years ago.

India scored 336 runs in their first innings, with Rohit scoring 140 and Kohli 77 runs. In the second innings, Pakistani batters Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam put on a 104-run second-wicket partnership. However, Kuldeep Yadav later bowled both of them in two overs, and Kohli’s side cruised to victory in a contest marred by several rain delays.

#1 India vs England- 1st ODI 2017, Pune

This was Virat Kohli’s first match as a full-time ODI skipper. He had established his prowess as a Test captain, therefore a lot was expected from him.

India’s middle-order was in disarray, and in the opener of the three-match series, the hosts were given a big target of 351 runs to chase. India were reduced to 63/4, but a 200-run partnership between skipper Virat Kohli (122) and Kedar Jadhav (120) helped India win with three wickets to spare.