PUNE: The "Chase Master" wasn't really required to be of assistance on Thursday, but he came to the party anyway.
When Virat Kohli walked to the crease, Rohit Sharma (48) and Shubman Gill (53) had already knocked off 88 runs of the required 257 against Bangladesh.
The captain must have been cursing himself as he walked back to the pavilion after failing to capitalise on a good start on a flat pitch. And he must have been angry with his manner of dismissal - pulling straight to the fielder soon after perching young pacer Hasan Mahmud into the crowd at fine leg.
Not long after, Gill followed Sharma back into the hut. But King Kohli would not commit the same mistake.
The 34-year-old brought up his third World Cup hundred, 103 not out from 97 balls with six fours and four sixes, synchronising it perfectly to make his final loft over the midwicket boundary off left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed as the team's winning runs.
A few eyebrows might have been raised and a few lips pursed as umpire Richard Kettleborough refrained from calling it a wide when Nasum, with Kohli on 97 and with two required for victory from nine remaining overs, sent down a faster one on the leg side.
Neither Kohli nor the 36,000 odd fans would have minded it though.
It was the former India captain's 48th career ODI ton. Incidentally, his first in the quadrennial showpiece had come against the same opposition in Mirpur in 2011.
1/10:World Cup: Virat Kohli leads India stat attack against Bangladesh
AFP
2/10:Virat Kohli
<p>Virat Kohli posted his 48th hundred in ODIs — his third in the World Cup and his first while chasing in World Cups - during India’s seven-wicket victory against Bangladesh in Pune on Thursday. </p>AFP
3/10:Set to go past Sachin
<p>Virat Kohli is now just one short of Sachin Tendulkar's world record of 49 tons. </p>Reuters
4/10:The chase master
<p>Virat Kohli extended his tally of hundreds while chasing to 23 in 95 innings in ODIs — his aggregate being 5691 (ave 90.33) at a strike rate of 97.26. </p>AP
5/10:Record fifties
<p>Virat Kohli now has 212 fifty-plus scores in 567 innings in international cricket, bettering the 211 in 617 innings by Jacques Kallis. </p>AP
6/10:Elite club
<p>Just three batters have posted more such innings than Virat Kohli — Sachin Tendulkar (264), Ricky Ponting (217) and Kumar Sangakkara (216). </p>AFP
7/10:40 hundreds
<p>Virat Kohli became the first batter to hit 40 hundreds in a winning cause in 167 innings in ODIs. Sachin Tendulkar has the next best tally in wins — 33 in 231 innings. </p>PTI
8/10:ODI record
<p>Virat Kohli's career average of 58.00 while aggregating 13342 runs in 273 innings is a record in ODIs (minimum qualification: 3000 runs). </p>PTI
9/10:Rohit Sharma
<p>Rohit Sharma's runs' tally of 265 at an average of 66.25, including a hundred and a fifty, in four innings, at a strike rate of 137.30 is the highest by any batter in this World Cup. </p>AP
10/10:Shubman Gill
<p>Shubman Gill's back to back fifty-plus innings (53) against Bangladesh is his tenth fifty in ODIs - his first in the World Cup. </p>PTISharma was in rousing form from the outset. As Bangladesh's young pacers Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud made the cardinal mistake of trying to bounce him out, the Indian captain kept hooking and pulling them to the fence. Maybe, Sharma played one shot too many when he succumbed to a similar delivery.
Earlier, Bangladesh's openers showed admirable intent, skill and application. And their lower order, some panache. It is just that they showed a distinct lack of all that in between.
Litton Das, 29, has not been exactly among runs this season. His 66 off 82 balls at the MCA stadium on Thursday was only his fifth half-century of 2023, but it was also his second in fourth outing this World Cup. He had made a determined 76 against England, albeit in a losing cause, at Dharamsala earlier in the tournament.
At the other end was 22-year-old Tanzid Hasan, just playing in his ninth ODI (and eighth innings) for Bangladesh.
They were up against one of the world's best attacks but what was in their favour was a benign pitch. Still, they had to weather a probing new ball spell from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, although the latter's potency soon gave way to profligacy.
The first five overs saw Bangladesh crawl to 10 for no loss. That is when the duo decided to cut loose. It helped that they were a left (Tanzid)-right (Das) combination. The former first miscued a lofted drive off Bumrah to third man but the willow would find the leather with precision thereafter from both the strikers.
It was Das who broke the shackles truly in the following over when he struck two boundaries off Siraj - first an upper cut over the slip cordon followed by a wristy flick to mid-wicket.
Tanzid then showed young blood knows no fear nor respect for opponent. He deposited Bumrah a few rows into the stands over fine leg with a stunning hook.
Two boundaries in the next over from Siraj marked the southpaw's growing confidence. Das added to India's worries when he struck Hardik Pandya, who replaced Bumrah, to back-to-back boundaries in that eventful ninth over.
When Shardul Thakur came on for Siraj, Tanzid welcomed him with 6, 4, 6 off successive deliveries. After 10 overs, Bangladesh were now 47/0. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, the dream start did not last.
