Virat Kohli registered his 44th ODI hundred – his first since August 2019 – which took him further close to Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 49. However, the feat was merely a side-note, as Kishan smashed record books and Bangladesh bowlers to the cleaners in the third and final ODI at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram on Saturday, December 10.
India, having already lost the first two ODIs, and with it, the series, were asked to bat first in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who missed out with a thumb injury he’d sustained during the second game. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Bangladesh’s match-winner in the first two ODIs, dismissed Shikhar Dhawan on the first ball of his spell, thereby maintaining a fine run.
India would have been in further trouble had Litton Das not shelled a fairly straightforward chance at short mid-wicket to give Kohli a reprieve early on. Kishan, however, showcased his sublime best against pace and spin alike right from the start, and raced to his fifty off 49 balls in the 13th over of the innings.
The left-hander continued to dominate as Kohli struggled for fluency and raced to a maiden ODI ton with a powerfully swept four off Afif Hossain off the 85th ball he faced. Kishan changed gears further and raced to his double in just 126 balls, making it the fastest in the format, surpassing Chris Gayle’s record of 138 balls in the 2015 World Cup against Zimbabwe in Canberra. At 24 years and 145 days, he also became the youngest double centurion in ODIs.
Kishan became the fourth Indian to register an ODI double-hundred, joining Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag in an elite list. He would’ve fancied surpassing Rohit’s all-time record of 264, but was dismissed for 210 off 131 in the 36th over of the innings, having smashed 24 fours and 10 sixes in an entertaining stay.
“I’m blessed to hear my name alongside such legends. Still feel when I got out, 15 overs were left. Could’ve scored 300 also!”
Kishan would tell host broadcasters during the innings break.
Kishan’s dismissal – courtesy of a fine boundary catch by Litton off Tasking Ahmed – brought an end to a 290-run stand between him and Kohli, the third best for any wicket for India in ODIs.
Kohli, meanwhile, got to a much awaited 44th shortly after, with a flicked six over fine-leg off Ebadot Hossain. India stumbled from 305/1 to 344/5, but Washington Sundar (37 off 27) and Axar Patel (20 off 17) ensured that they managed to finish at 409/8 in the allotted 50 overs.
Das (29 off 26) showed some promise at the start of Bangladesh’s chase, as did Shakib Al Hasan (43 off 50), but the hosts always remained distant from the required rate.
Shardul Thakur (3/30) ran through the lower-order, as the hosts crumbled from 143/5 to 149/9, and were eventually bundled out for 182 in 34 overs to go down by 227 runs. Umran Malik and Axar Patel bagged two wickets each.
The first of two Tests will be played at the same venue, beginning Wednesday.
Brief scores
India 409/8 (Kishan 210, Kohli 113, Al Hasan 2-68) beat Bangladesh
