<p>At the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Thursday, India defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets with 51 balls remaining for their fourth victory in as many games in the ICC Men’s ODI Cricket Cup 2023. Virat Kohli demonstrated why he is regarded as one of the best chasers in the history of the game.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-246420″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/theindiaprint.com-virat-kohli-scores-an-undefeated-century-as-india-defeats-bangladesh-by-seven-wick.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com virat kohli scores an undefeated century as india defeats bangladesh by seven wick” width=”1213″ height=”1052″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/theindiaprint.com-virat-kohli-scores-an-undefeated-century-as-india-defeats-bangladesh-by-seven-wick.jpg 241w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/theindiaprint.com-virat-kohli-scores-an-undefeated-century-as-india-defeats-bangladesh-by-seven-wick-150×130.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1213px) 100vw, 1213px” title=”Virat Kohli scores an undefeated century as India defeats Bangladesh by seven wickets in the men's ODI World Cup 3″></p>
<p>As India reached 261/3 in 41.3 overs after holding Bangladesh to 256/8 in 50 overs, Kohli, playing a well-controlled inning, added 44 runs for the second wicket with Shubman Gill (53), who also struck a half-century, and an unbroken 83-run partnership with KL Rahul, who scored a run-a-ball 34.</p>
<p>With their fourth victory in their last four World Cup games, India is level with New Zealand for second position in the Net Run Rate standings on eight points.</p>
<p>Rohit Sharma, the captain, attacked the bowlers as they raised 88 runs for the opening stand as India began their pursuit of 257 like they have done so far in this World Cup.</p>
<p>In the opening over, the India captain led the way by first creaming Shoriful Islam for four through points and then flailing a wayward shot beyond the backward point. Then, in the third over, Rohit launched the 22-year-old left-arm pacer for a four and a six, capitalizing on the Bangladeshi bowler’s two subpar deliveries.</p>
<p>Four more boundaries were hit by Rohit, two off Nasum Ahmed, one off each of Shoriful and Mahmud, who attempted to pelt the Indian captain with short balls but ultimately sent Rohit back. The Mumbai batter hooked Mahmud for a massive six over fine leg but died attempting the hit again off the subsequent ball. Towhid Hridoy had an easy catch waiting for him at the deep square-leg fence, but this time the ball had touched the toe-end of his bat. Four boundaries and two maximums were part of Rohit’s 48 off 40 balls, and the captain was obviously frustrated that he couldn’t play the shot the way he wanted to.</p>
<p>Gill kept on excelling at the other end as he went on to reach his half-century, which came off 53 balls (54, 26) and was his first half-century in a World Cup match. His captain was operating in fourth gear as he got off to a calm start. Off Mustafizur Rahim’s opening ball, Gill got things going with a well timed boundary. In the fourth over, he came close to chopping Nasum Ahmed into his wickets before throwing wide his arms and hitting two straight sixes over long-on off the left-arm orthodox spinner.</p>
<p>Mustafizur advanced to his fifty after hitting three fours, including two off consecutive deliveries in the 12th over. The hitter from Chandigarh, however, failed to dispatch a shot on his leg-stump to the boundary and holed on to Mahmudullah at midwicket just when it seemed like he would go on to score a huge run. For the second wicket, Kohli and Gill contributed 44 runs, pushing India beyond the 100-run threshold.</p>
<p>After that, Kohli assumed control by scoring his 69th half-century while playing a careful and steady innings. Hasan Mahmud overstepped twice, and he smacked him for a four and a six. In between striking Nasum Ahmed, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Hasan Mahmud for a boundary each, he mostly dealt in singles and doubles. He scored his half-century in 48 balls by hitting four boundaries and one maximum.</p>
<p>Shreyas Iyer (19 off 25 balls) did not have a lengthy innings because Mehidy Hasan Miraz caught him at midwicket. But to help India win, Kohli and KL Rahul put up a 50-run stand for the fourth wicket.</p>
<p>Brief ratings:</p>
<p>India defeated Bangladesh 261/3 in 41 overs with the score of Bangladesh 256/8 (Tanzid Hasan 51, Litton Das 66, Mushfiqur Rahim 38, Mahmudullah 48; Ravindra Jadeja 2-37, Jasprit Bumrah 2-41, Mohd Siraj 2-60).Mehidy Hasan Miraz bowled 3 overs for a 7-wicket victory (Virat Kohli 103 not out, Rohit Sharma 48, Shubman Gill 53, and KL Rahul 34 not out).</p>
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