Virat Kohli slams 45th fifty, helps India defeat Australia in Kolkata ODI

Virat Kohli slammed his 45th ODI fifty and he was given great support by Ajinkya Rahane as India beat Australia in the Kolkata ODI.

Virat Kohli has one ODI century at Eden but that came nearly eight years ago. On Thursday, at an Eden Gardens warmed up by sunshine even though the crowd, it seemed, hadn’t warmed up to the idea of what should be a cracking contest, Kohli crossed halfway to getting there in the fifth ball of the 21st over. (LIVE SCORECARD)

Virat Kohli slammed his 45th ODI fifty as India made great progress in the Kolkata ODI against Australia after choosing to bat. (AFP)

Electing to bat after winning the toss, Kohli came in at the fall of Rohit Sharma’s wicket in the first ball of the sixth over. He and Ajinkya Rahane ensured that there wouldn’t be a repeat of the top-order collapse that had India wobbling in Chennai. (LIVE UPDATES IND vs AUS)

They rotated the strike, ran their twos hard and played superbly on the off-side whenever Australia offered the slightest of width. Kohli started slowly but catching up and their overtaking Rahane on way to his 45th ODI 50 with a single off Ashton Agar.

Till Kohli pulled one off Kane Richardson to end the 11th over for a four, India had hit all their boundaries on the off-side. Kohli and Rahane added 102 in 111 balls for the second wicket before the opener failed to beat Hilton Cartwright’s throw.

India went on to win the second ODI by 50 runs.