"Won't Look Nice Not To...": What Kohli Told Rahul About Going For Hundred

Virat Kohli is one great batter on whom the Indian cricket team trusts. His intensity on the field is unmatchable. And till the time he is at the crease, any total looks chase-able. Virat Kohli slammed his 48th ODI ton in an ODI Cricket World Cup match to take India home in a 257-run target chase against Bangladesh. While Kohli looked positive throughout his innings, towards the end it seemed like he and KL Rahul were not taking singles so the former remains on strike to get his first century in the ODI Cricket World Cup 2023.

India had reached 238/3 in 39 overs, chasing 257, with Virat Kohli batting on 81 and KL Rahul on 34*. From that point, the two batted in a way that indicated that getting to Kohli's ton was the aim. 

After India reached the target in just 41.3 overs, KL Rahul revealed the discussion that was going on between the two.     

"He was confused actually. He said 'it will not look too nice, not to take this single. It's still a World Cup. It's still a big stage. I don't want to look like I am trying to get to the milestone'. I said 'It's still not won, but I think we will win this quite easily. So, if you can get to the milestone, why not. You must'," KL Rahul said at he end of the match. 

"He did that at the end. I wasn't going to run the singles anyway." 

On Bangladesh bowlers bowling down the leg-side towards the end with Kohli a few runs away from his 48th ODI ton, KL Rahul said: "That happened in the last over as well. Bowled a slower bouncer, went for a wide. I mean...can't really, it's a hard question to answer. I decided I wll have a quiet word with the bowler but yeah..."

Meanwhile, Following his side's seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the ICC Cricket World Cup, India's rising batting sensation Shubman Gill said that the team aims to carry on with their momentum after completing easy chases in all their four matches so far, adding that before the tournament, the team was not able to chase big totals this well.

He also expressed happiness at getting his maiden WC fifty and said that he is learning how seniors like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma bat in big matches during World Cups.

An explosive first wicket partnership between skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, followed by Virat Kohli's 48th ODI ton sealed India a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in their ICC Cricket World Cup match at Pune on Thursday.

On chasing targets this tournament, Gill said during post-match conference, "I mean, you can see how confident they (top order batters) are, the way they are scoring runs. Definitely, I think this is one of the things that was talked about, especially leading up to the World Cup, that we were not chasing that well, those big totals, but I think having won all the four matches while chasing, I think it's a great way to have that momentum with us in those big games that we will have moving forward."

With ANI inputs

from NDTV Sports-Cricket
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