ICC World Cup 2019: Players to watch out for - Virat Kohli

Mumbai: Virat Kohli's a decade long journey in international cricket is magnificent. The world has seen him transform from being an impulsive teenager, hungry to make himself noticed on the international stage to be one of the best in the business.

The saga started from India winning the Under-19 World Cup under the captainship of Kohli. Batting at the number three spot, he gathered 235 runs in six matches at an impressive average of 46. Kohli's ton against West Indies is regarded as one of the best innings played in the tournament.

His staggering form in the tournament helped him don the blue jersey in August 2008 against Sri Lanka. Kohli was assigned the role of a provisional opener in absence of the veteran duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag due to injury.

Despite getting overshadowed by the veterans in World Cup 2011, the world saw Kohli's flair in the final against Sri Lanka. After the early departure of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli built a crucial partnership with Gautam Gambhir, adding 83 runs on the board in 15 overs.

Kohli climbed his way up the ranks when played a pivotal role in chasing a target of 321 in just 40 overs. Kohli remained unbeaten on 133 and sailed the team’s ship to the triumph. Kohli smashed 16 fours and 2 sixes in his innings, which included an over where he demolished Lasith Malinga by scoring 24 runs in a single over.

A strong bottom hand grip allows Kohli to flick any delivery aimed at his pads. Having an unconditional technique has not hampered Kohli’s success due to his excellent use of wrists to manoeuvre his shots on either side. Kohli’s 183 against Pakistan will remain as one of the memorable centuries of his career.  The innings proved the world why Kohli is regarded as one of the best in the business while chasing. While chasing a massive target of 330, Kohli laid the foundation by playing a crucial inning of 183 in just 143 balls, which included 22 fours and 2 sixes.

Kohli’s first venture in England in 2014 was dreadful for him, where he managed to gather only 134 runs in 10 test matches. Making a stunning comeback in 2018, he silenced his critics through his batting record in the test series against England. He was the highest run scorer in the series, scoring 593 runs in five test matches at an average of 59.30.

Kohli’s career reached new heights when he became the youngest player to score 10,000 runs in ODI cricket. He has managed to garner 41 centuries in his kitty and is now just eight centuries behind Sachin Tendulkar who aces the list of most ODI centuries. Taking over the throne of captaincy has not affected Kohli’s batting and his aggression.

Kohli was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore post his Under-19 success and the 30-year-old has been associated with the franchise for more than a decade now. In IPL 2019, Kohli has managed to score 464 runs in 14 matches with an average 33.14. He was successful in scoring his fifth IPL ton against Kolkata Knight Riders in just 58 balls, which was one of the highlights of his IPL journey.

Royal Challengers Bangalore had a disappointing season, failing to qualify for the playoffs yet again. But the nation has not slacked off their hopes from the skipper. Kohli is expected to lead the ‘Men in Blue’ to their third World Cup. Kohli was in sensational form last year, scoring 2735 runs including 11 tons across all formats.

 Kohli's glorious ODI career shows his calibre. He has scored 10843 runs in 219 innings with an amazing average of 59.58. Surprisingly, his average almost doubles when India is chasing. Kohli's average is 98.93 in 76 innings while chasing the target.