Virat Kohli badly wanted the hundred: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Normalcy returned for the Indian captain Virat Kohli on Sunday as he notched up his 42nd ODI century in his first innings after the World Cup. This was his first three-digit score in 11 innings and missed out on getting to the mark on five occasions during the mega event. It was a chanceless knock from Kohli where he scored 120 runs without much fuss off just 125 balls and helped India post a more than competitive total on a slow pitch.

Kohli’s celebration after reaching the three-figures proved that he desperately wanted to get the hundred. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, after the match, while speaking to the reporters, also confirmed that the 30-year-old was itching to make a mark on the field and did it nonchalantly. Kohli was not the only flag-bearer for the Men in Blue. Making a comeback, Shreyas Iyer also scored a valuable 71-run knock and lent perfect support to his skipper.

Defending 279, Indian bowlers were under the pump with the rain making the pitch easy to bat on. But Bhuvi returned with a four-wicket haul and was well assisted by the other bowlers as well.

From Virat’s expression you could make out

“From Virat’s expression, you can make out that how badly wanted a hundred. It’s not like he was out of form, it was just that he was getting dismissed in the 70s or 80s in the World Cup. The wicket was not easy, when he came back after getting dismissed, he said the wicket is not that easy,” Bhuvneshwar Kumar was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Bhuvi registered the figures of 4/31 in his eight overs and picked timely wickets of set batsmen to put the pressure back on the home side. Speaking about his performance, the pacer explained that his plan was to just build back to back dot balls in order to put pressure on the opposition.

“I was not thinking about the result. We knew if we get one-two wickets, we will be back in the game. I just planned on bowling economically and bowling more dot balls,” Bhuvi added.