WATCH: Dharamsala Crowd Suffers Heart Break as Virat Kohli Misses Out on His Record-Equalling 49th ODI Ton – News18

The crowd at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala held their breaths when Virat Kohli was batting on 95 and India needed just 5 runs to register their first win against New Zealand in an ICC men’s event since 2023. A maximum would have let him equal master blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s 11-year-old record of 49 ODI centuries and also guide India home. He went for a biggie but he could clear the man at deep mid-wicket.

The incident unfolded in the 48^th over when Matt Henry bowled in the slot and Kohli wanted to heave it over midwicket. However, the face of the bat twisted and the shot didn’t get the desired distance. Glenn Phillips at cow corner took the catch and a remarkable innings came to an end. Ravindra Jadeja then sealed the game with a boundary off the final ball of the over, handing India a 4-wicket win with 12 balls to spare.

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Virat returned to the hut after playing a commendable 95-run knock off 104 balls, including 8 boundaries and 2 sixes. His gritty innings overshadowed Daryl Mitchell’s ton in the first innings that helped New Zealand put a challenging total on the board before Mohammed Shami bagged his second 5-wicket haul in ODI World Cups.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma regretted when Kohli took the aerial route to get the remaining runs but he was proud of his teammate who has been doing such a thing for the team for a long time now.

“He [Kohli] has done this for us so many years. He backed himself to do the job. Kohli and Jadeja pulled us back when we lost a few wickets in the middle. The fielding is something we pride ourselves on. Today the fielding wasn’t clinical,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation.

“Ravindra Jadeja is one of the best fielders in the world. These things happen. We know that fielding is something that will decide a lot of things going forward. We love travelling and playing in different parts of the game,” he added.