Virat once again

Less than three weeks ago, India were in a similar situation in the CB Series in Australia, needing to beat Sri Lanka at Hobart to stay in the triangular tournament. It was Virat Kohli who stormed the Lankan fortress with a century of blinding brilliance to chase down 322 in 36.4 overs. Yesterday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here in Dhaka, they had to chase 330 against Pakistan to stay in the Asia Cup, and it was again Kohli who delivered with an epic 183.
It defies belief that a batsman can score two defining innings in such a short span of time, and the brilliance of his latest knock will stay in the minds of spectators at the Mirpur ground, where Kohli has scored three hundreds in four appearances.
"I will rate it with Hobart because of the sort of game we were playing today," said Kohli when asked if this was his best innings, adding that there was always pressure when India played Pakistan.
Although recent trends hint that chasing 300-plus is no longer as difficult as it used to be, it is still a tough assignment, especially against a strong bowling line-up. This was only the third time Pakistan have lost after posting a total in excess of 300 and also the highest successful chase by India.
"We lost a wicket [Gautam Gambhir] on the second ball and my plan was to go in there and get a big partnership for the second wicket," a tired-looking but cheerful Kohli said after the match. "Chasing 330, if you have wickets in hand, say you are 140 for one, there's something to think about. That was our plan, to put pressure on them. I think we executed it perfectly."
How does Kohli keep scoring such big hundreds under such pressure? "There's no recipe. I go out there and try to give myself the best chance to perform. I am there till the end and the team is in a comfortable position, that's the only aim. I decided to apply myself to play past the 40-41st over because it was an important game for us," said Kohli.
How important this innings was for Kohli was obvious when he reached his century off 97 balls, he reacted with air-punching ferocity. It was the passion of having done well against the archrivals.
"I haven't fought anyone in the field," a smiling Kohli said when asked if there was any animosity between the teams that drew the reaction. "I didn't do much in the first three games [that he had previously played] against Pakistan so I was very determined to perform. I have a few friends in their team."
The game was a story of partnerships; Pakistan openers Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed put on a 224-run opening stand, before Kohli constructed 133 and 172-run stands with Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma respectively. Kohli's two associations were symbolic because those represented a sort of passing of the baton from the past in Tendulkar, to the future in Kohli and Sharma.
"Batting with Tendulkar is an honour. You learn so much from him, even the little things," Kohli said as he spoke of the two pivotal partnerships. "I have always said I was a big fan of Rohit Sharma. He's a treat to watch from the other end. It's a pleasure to bat alongside him. He understands the role and situation really well."
Kohli already has 11 hundreds from 85 games. When asked if he had any plans on chasing Tendulkar's, who scored his first ODI hundred in his 79th match, hundred international hundreds, Kohli responded with incredulity.
"I have got 11, he's got 100. How can you say that?" Kohli laughed. "That's totally, you know, like mission impossible. I am not going after it at all. I am happy to be scoring hundreds and I'll try and score as many as I can."