India batting lynchpin Virat Kohli almost got there, but eventually fell just short of equalling his idol Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI centuries at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. Kohli was dismissed after essaying a fabulous 88-run knock against Sri Lanka in their 2023 ODI World Cup clash. Kohli and Shubman Gill combined in a pivotal 189-run partnership to take India to a strong position. The home team were batting at 201/3 after 33 overs at the time of writing, with Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul at the crease. (Match Blog | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
Kohli walked out to bat in the very first over, as captain Rohit Sharma was dismissed off the second ball of the match with a lovely off-cutter from left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka. Kohli and Gill had to endure a testing period early on, with Madushanka's new-ball partner Dushmantha Chameera coming up with a splendid initial burst. The right-arm fast bowler bowled back-to-back maiden overs to keep India's attacking batters tied down.
But as is their wont, Kohli and Gill eventually got going and the runs began to flow. The surface seemed a bit two-paced as the batters were repeatedly found checking their drives. But the duo bade their time in the middle and began milking singles to relieve the pressure. As they got settled and grew more conversant with the conditions, Kohli and Gill took toll of bad balls and coupled it with some strong running between the wickets to take India to a commanding position.
