India captain Virat Kohli finished the One-Day International series against South Africa as he started it – with a match-winning century.
Kohli was in dazzling form as he hit 129 not out off 96 balls to take India to an eight-wicket win with 17.5 overs to spare in the sixth one-day international.
It completed a crushing 5-1 series victory for India, who started the series second behind South Africa in the one-day rankings but finished as the undisputed number one side.
The series was a personal triumph for Kohli, who hit three centuries and became the first player to score more than 500 runs in a bilateral series. He finished with 558 runs at an average of 186.00.
The Indian press was effusive in its praise for Captain Kohli and his team.
The Times of India’s Mumbai edition had a nice punny headline, playing on the series scoreline.
“Virat Kohli is breaking a One-Day batting record almost every second day at the crease,” wrote K Shriniwas Rao in his report. “Just that while he’s busy walking out there, he doesn’t know which one is he accomplishing this time. In the process, the last two weeks, he broke South Africa’s confidence like no other batsman in recent history, leaving them in a state of absolute helplessness as the six-match series concluded with a massive India win at the SuperSport Park on Friday.”
The newspaper’s Delhi edition had a relatively less creative headline, though:
“One hundred per cent Virat,” screamed out The Indian Express’s headline. “International hundreds have now become almost a routine for Kohli,” read the report.
“HIGH FIVE,” said The Tribune in all caps and bold.
“Record-breaker Kohli powers India,” said Hindustan Times, whose report was also centred on the India captain. “His knock dominated the mood at the stadium so much that the fact that India scored a resounding eight-wicket win with 17.5 overs to spare in the last ODI to clinch the series 5-1 was eclipsed,” wrote Khurram Habib in his report.
“Century Man shows up at Centurion,” read DNA’s headline.
The Telegraph gave some deserved credit to Shardul Thakur, who took four wickets, but their reports were all focused on Kohli, along with his tribute to wife Anushka Sharma in the post-match presentation.
With inputs from AFP
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