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OTD in 2012: Virat Kohli Slammed Match-Winning 183 against Arch-Rivals Pakistan

image-lfdsbj2rKohli scored a match winning 183 [Twitter]

On this day in 2012, Virat Kohli played the innings of his life against Pakistan in the Asia Cup tournament. The former India captain has scored some breath-taking hundreds in the 50-over format, but this innings against Pakistan solidifid his status as a modern-day chasemaster.

A few days prior to that masterclass against Pakistan, Kohli smashed a stellar 133 against Sri Lanka in the CB Series, and continued the run-scoring form in the Asia Cup as well.

Top order takes down India

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first on a placid wicket. The decision instantly paid off as both the Pakistan openers, Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed slammed their respective centuries to push India on the back-foot.

It was a batting masterclass from both the openers, and the Indian bowlers had no answer for it. They added 224 runs for the opening wicket and a stromg foundation was laid for a big total.

However, once the first wicket fell, the floodgates opened as Indian bowlers came back  to life and pulled things back towards the slog overs. However, despite Pakistan losing wickets at regular tandem, Younis Khan showed his skills and hitting abilities with a mind-boggling 34-ball 52.

The veteran batter gave momentum to the Pakistan innings and propelled them to a comfortable 329 for 6. Ashok Dinda was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2 for 47.

Kohli masterclass blows away Pakistan

India had a horror start to their chase, losing Gautam Gambhir for a second ball duck. But this is where things turned for the Indian side. The baton officially passed as the Master (Sachin Tendulkar) and the Apprentice (Virat Kohli) took on the bowling attack with utmost ease.

Pakistan had the likes of Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz and Saeed Ajmal in their ranks, but that had no effect on the duo as they played with everything with relative ease.

It was a typical Kohli innings, wherein he manevoured the field to perfection and hardly gave a chance to the opposition. The chase-matser took a special liking towards Wahab Riaz as the left-arm seamer looked clueless.

Eventually, Kohli brought up his 11th ODI century, and he didn't stop there. The right-handed batter went a notch-up and scored a memorable 183 off just 148 balls. By the time he was dismissed, the champion batter had taken India to a comfortable position, as the Indian side won the game by 6-wickets.