Twitter Reactions: Virat Kohli gets back into groove with a sublime 89 at the SCG

The Indian skipper Virat Kohli again missed out on a much deserved century while playing in the second ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It has been 15 months since the right-hander has scored a hundred in the One Day format. His last ODI ton was against West Indies on August 14 at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain. But his sublime knock assured the fans that he is back in form.

Chasing a humongous target of 390, Virat came to bat in the middle in 8th over after the opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan lost his wicket to Josh Hazlewood while playing at 30. However, India soon received the second hiccup as other opener Mayank Agarwal got caught by the wicketkeeper Alex Carey on the ball from Pat Cummins.

The responsibility of anchoring the innings fell completely on Kohli and he along with Shreyas Iyer tried to build a partnership. The two, together, collected 93 runs and took India to a total of 153 in 23 overs from 60 in 8.3 overs. However, Virat Kohli was once again left alone on the field as Steve Smith took a brilliant catch at the mid-wicket to end Iyer’s innings of 38 runs off 36 deliveries.

Virat Kohli played terrific strokes

Then walked in KL Rahul and he along with Virat Kohli played some remarkable shots to bring India back in the game. The two stitched a partnership of 72 runs and the visitors, albeit briefly, made a comeback into the game. Virat was playing really well at 89 runs and seemed set to get to his 44th ODI ton.

But on the second last ball of 34th over, when the pacer Hazlewood bowled a back of length ball, the Indian skipper pulled it towards the mid-wicket. However, Moises Henriques took a jaw-dropping catch at the short mid-wicket to put a full stop to the match-defining knock of Virat Kohli.

The right-hander had to go back to the pavilion after scoring 89 runs off 87 deliveries and his wait for his 44th ODI and 71st overall century continues. Kohli’s knock included 7 incredible boundaries and two stunning maximums at a strike rate of 102.3. Virat’s wicket was a big moment for the Australian team as they were successful in shifting the winning momentum completely towards their side.

Here’s how Twitter reacted: