‘Sher ko phir se bhookh lagne lag gayee hain’ – Fans heap praise as Virat Kohli hits his 73rd international century vs SL

At the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, India and Sri Lanka squared off in the opening match of a three-match ODI series. On January 12 and January 15, 2022, the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvanthapuram will host the second and third one-day international matches of the series respectively.

After winning the toss, Sri Lanka decided to bowl first. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul, three experienced players for India, returned to the squad after being rested for the T20I series against the Asian champions, while left-arm seamer Dilshan Madhushan made his ODI international debut for the Islanders.

Virat Kohli equals Sachin Tendulkar’s record

Rohit and Shubman Gill stepped up with the bat and quickly took control of the field with their aggressive strokes. Together, they amassed a fantastic partnership of 143 runs. Although it turned out to be an ODI, both openers were conducting themselves as though it were a T20 match. Both hitters scored 78 runs during the powerplay.

Kohli came into the crease when Gill got dismissed. At that moment the team’s score was 143 runs. He started playing his innings with positive intent and started taking on the bowlers after the dismissal of his batting partner Rohit when the team’s score was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 80 runs in his comeback innings.

Kohli scored his 73rd international ton and 45th ODI ton of his career. With this century, the former Bangalore franchise skipper equaled Sachin Tendulkar‘s record of most ODI 100s against any team and most ODI 100s in a country.

Both players share a record of nine ODI centuries against a team. Sachin has done it against the West Indies and Kohli has now done it against Sri Lanka. The Indian cricketers also share a record for the Most ODI tons in a country, which is 20. Tendulkar did it in 160 innings, while on the other hand, Virat did it in only 99 innings.

Here’s how people shared their thoughts on Virat Kohli’s magnificent knock:-

Once A King …Always A King #ViratKohli𓃵

— Gagandeep Singh (@IamGaganBadwal) January 10, 2023

Troll him, Hate him.
do whatever you want to do.
He will keep on shutting your mouth like this. GOAT 🐐👑 #ViratKohli𓃵 pic.twitter.com/YHorRd4T6L

— ᗩᗪITYᗩ ᗩᖇYᗩᑎ 🇮🇳🇮🇳 (@imadityaaryan) January 10, 2023

Virat Kohli has no competition…King is always a King ❤🏏 #ViratKohli𓃵#ViratKohli#INDvsSL #1stODI pic.twitter.com/QbW7RB40pG

— imsudhanshu pandey (@impsudhanshu) January 10, 2023

This frame
This celebration
That's vintage Virat Kohli 👑🐐#ViratKohli #ViratKohli𓃵 pic.twitter.com/SNn2uNBx8p

— Parth (@humraaahi) January 10, 2023

The King 👑 is Back with 73rd 💯
Virat Kohli in ODI format:
Innings – 257
Runs – 12584
Average – 57.72
Strike Rate – 93.25
Hundreds – 45
Fifties – 64
The Greatest of all-time.#ViratKohli𓃵 #KingKohli #INDvsSL #GOAT𓃵 pic.twitter.com/93L4IvrbhR

— MANISH KUMAR (@MANISHK_786) January 10, 2023

#ViratKohli𓃵 #ViratKohli @imVkohli #virat #runmachine #INDvSL #INDvsSL #73rd #ODI #ODICricket #century pic.twitter.com/91OeFRoMl8

— Yashshree Shende (@ShendeYashshree) January 10, 2023

GOAT chasing God!!! 🏃🏻‍♂️#ViratKohli𓃵 pic.twitter.com/Qp4r3THEdc

— MITHIL (@ItsMitz7) January 10, 2023

Happiness 😭😭❤❤🔥🔥 #ViratKohli𓃵 pic.twitter.com/3VSb9neqCr

— ꜱᴀɴɪʏᴀ🌸 (@Sanislays) January 10, 2023

Ooper to ese dekh rhe ho sir jese aapke pass 73 hundreds ho 😉#ViratKohli𓃵 pic.twitter.com/cdmqCiJLVw

— Chirag Goyal (@chiraggoyal2734) January 10, 2023

शेर को फिर से भूख लगने लग गयी हैं 🦁 @imVkohli #ViratKohli𓃵 #KingKohli #ViratKohli #INDvsSL #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/ak9IOiRMoV

— Mandeep Singh Dahiya (@dahiyamandeep18) January 10, 2023