By BD Naraayannkar
Dubai, Sep 8 (UNI) Virat Kohli's maiden T20 ton of 122 not out and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar's 5/4 helped India to beat Afghanistan by 101 runs in Asia Cup Super 4 at Dubai International Stadium here on Thursday.
Afghanistan were never in the game. Bhuvaneshwar blew the top order away with his skillful bowling and recorded his career-best T20I figures.
The chase was over within the 7th over, Ibrahim Zadran and the lower order hung around to bat out the 20 overs and give some respectability to the final score.
Zadran scored 64 off 59 balls which was decorated with 4 boundaries and 2 sixes in Afghanistan's total of 111/8 in 20 overs.
Kohli came into bat as an opener in the absence of Captain Rohit Sharma and gave a rollicking start along with makeshift Captain KL Rahul (62 off 41, 6x4s 2x6s) by putting on a fantastic 119 runs stand for the first wicket.
The former captain continued to motor along despite losing Rahul and Surya Kumar Yadav (6 off 2, 1x6) in the 13th over off Fareed Ahmad. He brought up his first T20 century of his career in just 61 balls, in which he smacked 12 boundaries and 6 sixes.
Kohli played a stellar role in scoring 78 runs without losing a wicket along with Rishabh Pant (20 off 16, 3x4s) in the last five overs, as the former captain used his crease well and punished anything good or bad on a flat pitch.
The centurion should be thankful to Ibrahim Zadran as he dropped him off Captain Mohammad Nabi when he was batting on 28 and India were 63 without loss. Zadran misjudged a simple catch at deep mid-wicket by leaping to catch it with one hand and palmed it over the fence for maximum.
This was Kohli's first century in three years in any format of the game. He had cracked his last ton in November 2019. He also became the highest individual T20I scorer for India, piping Rohit who had made 118 against Sri Lanka in 2017.
Kohli also equalled Australia's Ricky Ponting as the most century-maker in all international cricket after belting his 71st. But, the star Indian batsman achieved the milestone in 522 innings compared to Ponting's 668.
India's batting legend Sachin Tendulkar leads the pack with 100 centuries in all international formats. Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakara and Jacques Kallis have scored 63 and 62 tons in 666 and 617 innings, respectively.
Kohli dedicated the century to his wife Anushka Sharma and his little daughter Vamika.
Afghan bowlers were far better against the likes of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but they weren't at their best against India.
However, Fareed bagged two wickets for 57 runs in stipulated four overs.
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