It was yet another Virat Kohli masterclass as India overhauled a steep target of 299 with relative ease. Kohli, who peeled off his 39th ODI century, looked in absolute control for the majority of his innings. MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik took India over the line, but the cult of Kohli only grew after this innings.
Former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin stuck his neck out and predicted that the run-machine will get 100 international hundreds if he stays fit in his career.
"Virat Kohli's consistency is very good. If he stays fit, he will reach the 100-century mark. He is way ahead of many great players as far as his consistency is concerned. He is a great player and India have hardly lost whenever he has scored a century," Azharuddin told Aaj Tak.
Kohli's impact is the same as Tendulkar
This is very similar to what Australian coach Justin Langer had said after the match. Langer compared the impact of Kohli on the game to Sachin Tendulkar and said that the consistency the Indian captain brings to the table is exemplary.
"You look for little moments to pump you up, get into the zone, and that's what I was trying to do. I tried to stay as aware as possible in recognising the moment to strike. "I thought those 2-3 overs were the moment, to bring the gap between runs and balls down. When it comes off it looks good. It was a really tough day," Kohli said after the match.
It was day to behold for MS Dhoni, who after receiving flak for his slow innings in Sydney, kept his calm and guided India over the finishing line. Kohli already hailed it as an 'MS Classic' and now former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar too has said that the impact of Dhoni on this team is invaluable.
"That value you cannot calculate at all. My prayer is to please leave the gentleman alone and he will continue to do well. He is also not getting younger. So the consistency you might have at a younger age will obviously not be there and you have to bear with that. Bear with that little inconsistency. But he's still tremendous value to the team," Gavaskar told India Today.
