Underwhelming returns of 11 and 3 in the previous two ODIs meant the captain had a point to prove on Thursday in Kingston, where he piled on 111 not out in an eight-wicket victory.
The ton at Sabina Park, which helped to seal a 3-1 series win, was Kohli’s 18th in an ODI run chase, passing the previous high mark set by India great Tendulkar. Kohli had already overhauled his former team-mate’s record for centuries in a successful ODI run chase.
“I don’t like to get out in similar fashion more often,” he told a news conference when asked about his recent failures.
“The reason you succeed at international cricket is that you have to stretch the gap between your mistakes and I think a couple of mistakes from me, getting out in the same manner, is something that I don’t really like,” he added, having fallen to short balls in each of the two previous matches in North Sound.
“So it was more [about] being a little strict on myself and getting the team across the line… I knew the victory was inevitable when I got the hundred and it was all about the satisfaction of actually planning the innings out and executing it well and that always feels nice.”
Asked where the innings ranked for him personally, Kohli said: “I felt it was a complete knock from a personal point of view and for the team as well.
“But it’s difficult to rate centuries. I would say the last one [122 against England in Pune in January] was still more special because the total was more massive and we were 63 for 4. In hindsight, when you look at those things, you understand the importance of those knocks.”
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