GUWAHATI, Jan 10: The absence of Jasprit Bumrah in the series, and “360 degrees run machine”, Surya Kumar Yadav in the playing XI of the India-Sri Lanka match here on Tuesday was made up by a run feast as the Rohit Sharma-led team amassed 373 runs for the loss of seven wickets.
The seasoned, albeit still yet to hit his best form by his standards, Virat Kohli’s “love affair” with Guwahati continued as he notched up his second consecutive ODI century at the ACA Stadium at Barsapara on a batting-friendly wicket, and his 45th overall ton.
It was also Kohli’s third ODI ton in Guwahati, the first being against New Zealand, as a young, emerging batter at the Nehru Stadium here in 2010, second against the West Indies in 2018 (ACA Stadium, Barsapara) and the third, at the same venue, on Tuesday.
Not that the innings was flawless, having been dropped twice mid way, including one regulation catch by the keeper. But that’s how the cookie crumbled in this game too, and Kohli made hay, when the sun was shining, literally at the lush-green Barsapara Stadium.
Kohli, now matured and in his mid-thirties, had come back fresh after a mini break, to pile up 113 off just 87 balls at a decent strike rate of nearly 130. His innings was laced with as many as nine boundaries and three sixes, reminiscent of the come-back-to-form ton, after a long layoff, he hit against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup last year.
Playing his first match in 2023, the charismatic India batter also added a few feathers to his illustrious cap as he became the fastest batsman to complete 12500 ODI runs in just 257 innings.
In all time run-scorers list in the 50-over format, the talismanic India batter is sixth, behind greats such as Mahela Jayawardene (12650), Sanath Jayasuriya (12430), Ricky Ponting (13704), Kumar Sangakkara (14234) and Sachin Tendulkar (18426).
Sending a strong statement, Kohli slammed his second consecutive century in ODIs. His last century came in the third and final ODI in Bangladesh (113) and ended the year 2022 on a confident note.
Earlier, the platform was laid for the ‘King’ as the Indian onslaught began with an opening stand of 143 off 118 balls between skipper Rohit and young Shubman Gill.
The opening pair looked set to get a century each but Shubhman was the first to get dismissed (LBW) by the Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka while Rohit fell 17 short of his ton, bowled by wily pacer Dilshan Madushanka.
India’s next big stand came up between Kohli and KL Rahul. The pair smashed 90 off 70 balls for the fourth wicket after which Kohli carried through with the finishing act to get to his century.
Not quite full capacity
The crowd however fell short of the 38,000 mark by a long way, with empty seats noticed in patches, prominently on the upper most tiers of the magnificent stadium.
By a rough estimate, it would be about 20,000 to 22,000 spectators, if not more, in stark contrast to the India-South Africa T-20 here in October last year which saw the stands jam packed, with hundreds waiting outside as well.
“There are a few reasons that immediately strike one’s mind. I would say that a change in format, from the slam-bang three and half-hour 20-overs a side, to the seven-odd hours in the 50-overs game. People have been customised, like fast food, with the T-20 format, for better or for worse,” said a spectator and avid India fan, who was clicking selfies with a couple of veteran cheerleaders of the two nations.
The Kamrup Metro district administration had declared Tuesday a half holiday for offices and educational institutions for those interested to watch the match and smooth conduct of security and traffic.
“But more importantly, if you ask me a major reason why the ACA Stadium failed to be a packed house today is because of lack of vehicle parking near the stadium. Moreover, unlike in some other cities, there is no organised transport system whereby people can leave their cars behind and commute to the stadium hassle-free and without a care,” a veteran sports enthusiast told this correspondent at the stadium.
The price of tickets too was a factor, though not “the” factor.
“Barring tickets (priced at Rs 475 each) that were exclusively students, the price range for general tickets started at Rs 1500 and shot up to Rs 6000, which, however is not as high as some hospitality tickets in the bigger cities are priced. The relatively high rates, for a 50-over game, might have discouraged a few to take the trouble of spending 12 hours outdoors on a working day,” he said.
Balangir soil
Going by what the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) authorities claim, the run feast, much like in the T-20 match in October, on a batting friendly wicket, had a lot to do with the special soil, “imported” from Balangir, a town in Odisha back in 2020.
“We plan to re-lay pitches in the other stadiums across Assam using soil, brought all the way from Balangir, as well. Along with good coaches, who can shape good players, the role of curators has now become very important to create good wickets,” ACA president Taranga Gogoi had said recently.
