Veteran batsman Virat Kohli, who is called the modern 'run machine' of the Indian cricket team, has once again shown such a ferocious form of his batting on the international cricket stage which has mesmerized the cricket lovers all over the world. In the first match of the three-match One Day International (ODI) series being played between India and West Indies, King Kohli blasted the Caribbean bowling attack as soon as he stepped on the field. In this high-voltage match played at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on September 27, India defeated West Indies in a one-sided fashion by eight wickets and took an unassailable 1-0 lead in the series. In the match, when the Indian team came out to chase the challenging target of 296 runs, Virat Kohli, who came to bat at number three, adopted an aggressive and controlled approach from the beginning. He played an extraordinary match-winning inning of 139 not out facing only 88 balls. During this stormy innings, Kohli hit classical and spectacular shots all around the field and completed the historic 86th century of his international career. This magical batting of Virat while chasing once again proved that when it comes to chasing runs, there is no other batsman of his stature in the entire world. Ian Bishop compared himself to Sachin Tendulkar, made a new record of 15,000 ODI runs in 74 less innings. Immediately after this incredible performance of Virat Kohli and his record-breaking century, former West Indies fast bowler and well-known international cricket commentator Ian Bishop openly praised him. While talking to sports broadcasting platform JioHotstar, Bishop said that such consistency and hunger for runs is seen in very few players in the history of cricket. He underlined that Virat Kohli has touched the milestone of scoring 15,000 runs in ODI cricket, which is a lifelong dream for any normal batsman. Analyzing this historic achievement, Ian Bishop compared Kohli's statistics with those of the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar. Bishop said that he has immense respect for the great Sachin Tendulkar and has been a witness to his era, but Virat Kohli has reached the mark of 15,000 ODI runs in 74 innings less than Sachin. According to Bishop, this figure is so shocking in itself that it directly puts Virat at the forefront of the greatest, or should we say, the best (GOAT) batsman of all time in the ODI format. 'If I had flowers right now, I would have given them to Virat': Hunger for runs and the unique art of the chase master. In his statement, the former West Indies legend especially praised Kohli's never-ending hunger for runs and mental toughness. Bishop said that even at this mature stage of his career, the physical fitness, energy and high level with which Virat Kohli is performing in every match is like a complete university for any young cricketer of the new generation. He said that the mathematical calculations going on in Virat's mind while chasing the target, sensing the match situation and creating psychological pressure on the bowlers is an art which has no equal in contemporary cricket. Bishop said emotionally that scoring 15,000 runs in one-day cricket is no ordinary feat. This is a huge and extraordinary figure. He said, "Virat Kohli always senses when the team needs him the most, even if he doesn't admit it publicly. If I had a bouquet of flowers in my hand at this moment, I would immediately bow down and offer them to him, because he certainly deserves every respect and praise."
India defeated West Indies by 8 wickets, hoisted the tricolor flag in Thiruvananthapuram. If we look at the equations of this match played at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, West Indies, batting first, had scored a respectable and strong 295 runs on the board in the stipulated 50 overs. The Caribbean batsmen gave a tough challenge to the Indian bowlers in the beginning. But when Team India came out to chase the target, the trend of the match completely tilted towards India as soon as Virat Kohli came on the field. Despite the fall of wickets at the other end, Kohli did not let the run pace slow down and kept scoring boundaries on loose balls along with strike rotation. Thanks to his unbeaten inning of 139 runs in 88 balls, India easily achieved the target of 296 runs by losing just two wickets. With this resounding eight-wicket victory, Team India has maintained its dominance on home soil and now in the next matches of the series too, the eyes of cricket fans will be fixed on the new records coming from Virat's bat.