'If you can get to the milestone, why not?' - KL Rahul explains point of view behind denying singles to let Virat Kohli reach century

Virat Kohli notched up his 48th ODI century during the ODI World Cup 2023 clash against Bangladesh on Thursday, October 19, in Pune.

India chased down Bangladesh's target of 257 with seven wickets in hand and 51 balls to spare. Shubman Gill registered his maiden World Cup half-century but Kohli stole the show with a fantastic unbeaten 97-ball 103.

At one stage, India needed 29 runs to win and the talismanic batter required 28 to get to the three-figure mark. Kohli was seen turning down a few singles from this point onwards and he eventually got his century with a glorious six of Nasum Ahmed. KL Rahul, who was at the other end with the former India captain, revealed after the match that he was the one who urged the 34-year-old to go for the ton.

"He [Kohli] was confused, he said it will not look too nice, not to take the single, it's still a World Cup, and it's still a big stage. 'I don't want to look like I am just trying to get the milestone'. But I said, I mean it is not won but still I think we'll win quite easily, so if you can get to the milestone why not, you must try. And he did that in the end. I wasn't going to run the singles anyway," Rahul told Star Sports.

Virat Kohli registers milestones during his 48th ODI century

Virat registered his 48th ODI century during the match against Bangladesh and crossed 26,000 international runs in the process. He is now one century short of equaling Sachin Tendulkar's record tally of 49 ODI centuries.

The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune also became the fifth ground in which Virat has scored more than 500-plus ODI runs (551). The seasoned campaigner has scored 259 runs in the four matches he has played in the ODI World Cup 2023. Only Indian captain Rohit Sharma has more runs (265) than him in the ongoing 10-team showpiece event.

Also Check: List of Virat Kohli international & IPL centuries