ADELAIDE: Virat Kohli, the man regarded as the natural heir to Sachin Tendulkar, blasted India past Pakistan at the World Cup on Sunday and described it as one of his greatest moments.

Kohli became the first Indian to make a hundred against arch-rivals Pakistan in a World Cup game.

“It’s one of the biggest wins of my career. It’s amazing to start like this,” said Kohli after his 22nd ODI century came on the same Adelaide Oval where he made two hundreds in a Test match against Australia in December.

“Expectations of me will rise but I just look to stand up to it. I hate losing. I love to win and play for my country. My role is to play a long innings so that the power hitters can play with freedom.”

The 26-year-old has now scored seven centuries in 21 one-day and Tests on Australian soil and four in five matches in both formats at the historic ground beside the River Torrens.

It was also at the Adelaide Oval that he secured his maiden Test century in the 2011-12 tour.

“I want to wrap up this ground and take it home,” Kohli said. “This has been a really special ground for me.”

Since the last Test series ended, though, he had raised eyebrows by going through four one-day matches and two warm-ups in Australia without getting anywhere close to a century, only once getting into double figures.

His first World Cup century came against Bangladesh in the opening match of the triumphant 2011 campaign on home soil but his second was a more significant knock.

“It’s probably one of the biggest wins I’ve had in my career right now,” he said after being named man-of-the-match. “Just an amazing way for us to kick off the World Cup, just an amazing pressure game against Pakistan. Good to get that one under the belt.”

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2015

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