Kohli powers India past West Indies with ton after reaching 15,000 ODI runs

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kohli-virat/U7w3X0qp/"]Kohli[/a], who hit an unbeaten 139, put on 151 runs for the second wicket with skipper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gill-shubman/KOAQiuhe/"]Shubman Gill[/a] (110) as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/india/fcOzl2uI/"]India[/a] chased down their victory target of 296 [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/cricket/india-fcOzl2uI/west-indies-jTD1lMfO/?mid=YRMrSrHM"]with 50 balls to spare in Thiruvananthapuram[/a].[/p][p]Kohli hit the winning six - the ninth in his 88-ball knock - as India went 1-0 up in the three-match series, which is being seen as a step in the team's preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup.[/p][p][b]The 37-year-old Kohli made the evening his own as he went past 15,000 ODI runs to become only the second batter after icon Sachin Tendulkar to achieve the feat.[/b][/p][p]Kohli reached the milestone with a boundary in his 303rd ODI innings, while Tendulkar, who finished his illustrious career with 18,426 runs, took 377 innings to get to 15,000.[/p][embed guid="ab90cfdd-94e7-4661-867a-4e8323f8ba18" url="https://x.com/BCCI/status/2104245785491882014" social-type="twitter" /][p]Gill reached his 10th ODI hundred but the spotlight soon shifted back to Kohli, who reached his 100 with a six as a raucous home crowd stood up to applaud the star cricketer.[/p][p][b]The top-order batter is the leading century-maker in ODIs, with Tendulkar next with 49 hundreds. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sharma-rohit/zBLBQRyA/"]Rohit Sharma[/a] is third with 34 tons.[/b][/p][p]Kohli and the 39-year-old Rohit are both playing only in the 50-over format after their Test and T20 retirements, as they look ahead to the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.[/p][p]Kohli on Saturday told broadcasters JioStar that the 2027 showpiece would be his last World Cup appearance.[/p][p]Rohit put the team off to a brisk start in his 32 as he put on 74 runs with opening partner Gill.[/p][embed guid="8e51fc83-d42b-4d71-95fc-b6558ec0001b" url="https://x.com/BCCI/status/2104244903941452099" social-type="twitter" /][p]Earlier, Justin Greaves made 101 and put on 135 runs for the opening stand with left-hander John Campbell, who made 62, to guide [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/west-indies/jTD1lMfO/"]West Indies[/a] to 295-7.[/p][p]Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav struck crucial blows to return figures of 4-40, including one maiden over as India hit back in the middle overs.[/p][p]Kuldeep also struck on successive balls, sending back Greaves and Jewel Andrew before Roston Chase avoided the hat-trick.[/p][p]Chase steadied the innings with Amir Jangoo, who made an unbeaten 58, as the pair put on 52 runs for the sixth wicket.[/p][p]The second ODI is [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/cricket/india-fcOzl2uI/west-indies-jTD1lMfO/?mid=4ADEMMvp"]on Wednesday in Guwahati[/a].[/p]