Asia Cup Cricket

Asia Cup Cricket, Virat Kohli smashed a blistering 183 off 148 balls as India produced their highest ever run chase to beat Pakistan by six-wickets on Sunday and keep alive their hopes of reaching the Asia Cup final.

Chasing a daunting total of 330, India pulled off a thrilling victory with 13 balls to spare thanks to Kohli, who notched up his third one-day century in four matches.

Rohit Sharma (68) and Sachin Tendulkar (52) also chipped in as India surpassed their previous highest successful run chase of 326-8 against England in 2002.

Kolhi belted 22 boundaries and one six while Tendulkar and Sharma also clobbered the Pakistani bowlers, with each hitting five fours and a six.

Pakistan qualified for Thursday’s final despite losing to India as they had earlier registered wins against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, earning a bonus point in the process.

India must now hope Sri Lanka, who have already been eliminated, beat Bangladesh in the final round robin match on Tuesday if they are to go through to the final.

India’s Asia Cup campaign suffered a setback following their shock five-wicket defeat by Bangladesh on Friday, meaning that the hosts will go through to the final if they beat Sri Lanka as head-to-head results are taken into account before net run rate.

India’s dazzling batting display on Sunday completely overshadowed the 224-run opening partnership by Pakistan’s Nasir Jamshed (112) and Mohammad Hafeez (105).

Cricket Asia Cup 2012

Cricket Asia Cup 2012, What he did at Hobart against the Lankans was ridiculously awe-inspiring and what he did here at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur against arch rivals Pakistan is nothing less than breathtakingly grand. He powered India to their highest run chase since the epic Natwest Series final against England way back in 2002. He became the joint highest scorer in a successful Indian chase. His 183 off 148 balls is the sixth highest individual score by an Indian in ODIs and he is just 23 years old who already has 11 centuries to his name.

Chasing a mammoth target of 330 to stay alive in the tournament, Virat Kohli’s magnificent 183 off 148 ably supported by Rohit Sharma’s 68 (83b) and Sachin Tendulkar’s 52 (48b) propelled India to an improbable 6 wickets victory after Pakistan had posted 329 courtesy a double century partnership between Mohammed Hafeez 105 (113b) and Nasir Jamshed 112 (104b) and a quick fire 52 off 34 balls from Younis Khan later in the innings.

Aggressive, brash, arrogant have been the monikers for Kohli’s personality, but it is the innings like this one and one at Hobart that would make the above adjuncts a part of his batting ability, skill and talent. Coming at No.3 he has the best avg. for any player while batting second for his team in ODIs; even better than a certain Hanise Cronje.