‘Luck plays a big part, you need to thank god on such evenings’: Virat Kohli after his 45th ODI century | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The proverb ‘fortune favours the brave’ has been rightly proved by India’s batting mainstay Virat Kohli, who got two reprieves, during his century knock against Sri Lanka in the first ODI of the three-match series in Guwahati on Tuesday.
Kohli, who was dropped twice, on 52 and 81 — en route to his 45th ODI century thanked god for presenting the luck to him. But what mattered most is that ‘King’ Kohli didn’t change his approach at all despite getting those chances as he kept scoring runs at his own will.

“I would take those (dropped chances) any day. Luck plays a big part, you need to thank god on such evenings. These evenings are important, pretty aware of that. Thankful that I made the most of that luck presented to me,” Kohli said during the innings break.

“I helped the team get 20 runs extra, rather than 350. It’s going to be the same thing. Someone will have to score a 150, or 140 to chase this down. But it also gives our bowlers a chance to bowl with dew coming into play. I am quite aware of what I eat, diet is the most important thing at this age. That keeps me in prime shape. That helps me give my 100 percent for the team.”
“I have had a bit of a break, and a couple of practice sessions coming into this game, so I was fresh after that Bangladesh tour. I was excited for the home season to start. The openers allowed me to get into the game and I tried to keep my strike rate in check. I was happy I was able to maintain the tempo and we finished with 370,” Kohli added.

Overall, Kohli has now 73rd international centuries. To go with his 45 ODI hundreds, he has 27 in Test format and one in T20I. Kohli is four shy of maestro Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time record of 49 centuries in the 50-over format.
The class of Kohli was on full display as he smashed 12 fours and a six and held on to one end while wickets fell at regular intervals in the middle overs.
At a venue where he had scored a century (140 vs West Indies) in the only ODI held four years back, the former India skipper had luck by his side.