‘My role was to take the game deep’: Kohli

Virat Kohli after reaching his century at Kolkata yesterday. Pic/PTI

Virat Kohli had famously carried Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders at the Wankhede after the title-triumph in 2011. Twelve years later, on his 35th birthday, that young clean-shaven man was rubbing shoulders with the Little Master. Sunday's road to the record-equalling 49th ODI century was a rough one and needed both skills and patience on a Eden Gardens wicket that frowned upon flamboyant batting.

Kohli spent well over three hours at the crease to get to the milestone, hitting just 10 boundaries and running between the wickets for the remaining 60 runs. On a hot and humid day, the innings was testimony to Kohli's tenacity, fitness and match-reading.

"After the loss of Rohit [Sharma] and Shubman [Gill] within the space of a few overs, my role was to take the game deep," Kohli said during the innings break. "After 10 overs, the ball was gripping," he explained the cautious approach on what he termed as "a tricky wicket".

On Sunday, he found the perfect partner in Shreyas Iyer as the two ran singles after singles in a 134-run stand for the third wicket. "When we practised before the Asia Cup, the two of us would often be doing that, and I said this will be [the nature of] our partnerships," Virat smiled.

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He also praised the opening pair for providing the platform. No leap off the ground, no punching of the air; just a look upwards in gratefulness, the removing of the helmet and a raising the bat to teammates and the terraces in acknowledgment of the deafening applause. In Kohli's muted celebration after pushing [Kagiso] Rabada to covers for the all important single, there was, perhaps, a message - a touching show of respect for the man whose record he has touched.

Tendulkar, of course, was quick to congratulate Kohli even as he wished him a quick passage to the record-breaking 50th. Kohli certainly is a man in a hurry. Tendulkar got to his 49th in 452 innings, and Kohli took just 277 to catch up.