Kevin Pietersen gives Virat Kohli the ultimate title after his 40th ODI century

There is absolutely no stopping Virat Kohli at the moment. The Indian skipper is reaching unprecedented heights with each passing game. On Tuesday, he once again underlined his reputation as the world’s best batsman with a sublime ton against Australia in the second ODI. On a pitch where even stroke-making was difficult for other batsmen, Kohli oozed class during his 116-run knock.

India were staring down the barrel after being asked to bat first. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Ambati Rayudu all failed to get going to leave India reeling at 75 for 3. But Kohli stood firm from one end and managed to thwart the Aussie attack with a knock of the highest quality. He was well supported by the likes of Vijay Shankar and Ravindra Jadeja as the skipper went on to register his 40th ODI ton and guide India to a competitive total of 250.

It was Kohli’s first ton against Australia at home since 2013.  During the course of the knock, he also became the fastest captain to score 9,000 runs, breaking legendary Ricky Ponting’s long-standing record. Virat Kohli achieved the feat in his 159th innings while Ponting had taken 203 innings for the same.

Kohli’s knock, nonetheless, eventually made the difference in the game as India bowled out Australia for 242 to register a thrilling eight-run win. Australia were off to a good start with their openers Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja adding 83 runs. However, once Kuldeep Yadav broke the stand by dismissing Finch, India struck on regular intervals before Vijay Shankar closed the game by taking the final two wickets in three balls of the last over.

And as expected, the cricketing world flooded Kohli with messages for his stunning knock. But perhaps Kevin Pietersen’s message for Kohli tops them all. After the game, Kohli had posted a message on his Instagram account to laud his teammates.

Here is Virat’s post

View this post on Instagram

Stellar performances, exceptional teamwork! 🇮🇳

A post shared by Virat Kohli (@virat.kohli) on Mar 5, 2019 at 8:29am PST

Pietersen was quick to use the opportunity and praise Kohli, writing: “K I N G Buddy!”

Here is the screenshot of Pietersen’s reply

40th ton just a number:

While the world is busy praising Kohli for his knock, the Indian skipper himself played down the hype and said that he was more proud of the way his teammates performed in the second innings to defend the total.

“It’s just a number. I am more proud of our second innings than our first,” he said after the game. India, meanwhile, will be looking to seal the series when they take on the visitors in the third ODI on March 8 in Ranchi.

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.