Team India finally managed to complete the rain-hit Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 match against arch-rivals Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Monday. India hammered Pakistan by 228 runs – to hand Babar Azam’s side their second-biggest defeat (by runs) in their ODI history.
Rohit Sharma’s side broke plenty of records in the Asia Cup powered by masterful centuries from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul and a five-wicket haul by Kuldeep Yadav. India’s win was also 4th biggest win in the history of Asia Cup and the biggest for them over their arch-rivals Pakistan.
Biggest win margin in ODI Asia Cup
256 runs – IND vs HK, Karachi, 2008
238 runs – PAK vs NEP, Multan, 2023
233 runs – PAK vs BAN, Dhaka, 2000
228 runs – IND vs PAK, Colombo (RPS), 2023
228 runs at Colombo (RPS), 2023
140 runs at Mirpur, 2008
124 runs at Birmingham, 2017
_ NUMBER 4__7__
King @imVkohli, take a bow! __
Legendary knock by the modern day great. #Pakistan truly gets the best out of the King!
Tune-in to #AsiaCupOnStar, LIVE NOW on Star Sports Network#INDvPAK #Cricket pic.twitter.com/7BfKckU1AO
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) September 11, 2023
Kohli, who scored his 47th ODI century on Monday, became the first batter to score four successive centuries at an away venue. Former South Africa batter Hashim Amla is the only player to score 4 successive centuries at an venue – having achieved this feat at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.
Former India captain Kohli managed to achieve this feat at a venue away from home – the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. “I’m always prepared to help the team in different ways. Today, KL got a great start and my job was just to rotate strike. I take a lot of pride on trying to push for easy runs, pushing for a double is as easy as they come,” Kohli said after the massive win over Pakistan on Monday.
“Me and KL (Rahul) are both conventional cricketers, we don’t try fancy stuff but we can get a lot of purchase through good cricket shots. It was a great partnership and good signs for Indian cricket. I am very happy for him to come back to ODI cricket in that manner,” the former India captain added.
Kohli will be back on the field again on Tuesday as Team India will face Sri Lanka in their second Super 4 match of the Asia Cup 2023. “I was pushing for those runs and happy for it, but I was thinking I need to play at 3 pm tomorrow. Luckily, we are Test players, I’ve played over a 100 Tests so I know how to come back and play the next day. It was really humid out there, I’m 35 in November so I need to be taking care of that recovery as well,” Kohli said.