Despite Virat Kohli’s valiant 124, India lost the ODI series to New Zealand, ending a 37-year home dominance. After the knock, childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma shared a heartfelt post praising Kohli’s journey from big dreams to a champion.
Former Team India captain and star batter Virat Kohli lit up the Holkar Cricket Stadium with his valiant 124-run knock in the third and final ODI of the series against New Zealand in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on Sunday, January 18. However, Kohli’s 54th ODI century was not enough to prevent the Men in Blue from the defeat as well as the series loss to the Kiwis.
For the first time, Team India lost to New Zealand in the ODI series on home soil, ending their 37-year dominance over the Black Caps in bilateral ODIs in India. However, the Men in Blue were on a 13-ODI series winning streak since 2016, which eventually came to an end following their 2-1 series defeat to New Zealand in Indore.
Despite the ODI series defeat to New Zealand, India’s star batter Virat Kohli earned widespread praise for his fighting century, which kept the hosts in the chase of the 338-run target set by New Zealand. His 101-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Harshit Rana (52) gave Team India a glimmer of hope of chasing down the target before the lower-order collapse dented those chances.
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‘Big dreams to the Champion’
Virat Kohli’s century knock drew massive praise from his childhood Rajkumar Sharma, who penned a heartfelt post for his protege on his Instagram handle.
Taking to his Instagram handle, Rajkumar hailed Virat Kohli’s journey from dreaming big to becoming the champion of the game, while lauding his fighting century in the third ODI against New Zealand in Indore, and called the innings deeply special.
“What a knock, Virat. From the young boy with big dreams to the champion you are today this innings means a lot to me as your coach. Immensely proud. God bless you,” Kohli’s coach wrote.
Rajkumar Sharma is Virat Kohli’s childhood coach, who played a crucial role in shaping the star batter’s career, guiding him from his early days in Delhi cricket to becoming one of the greatest players in the modern era. Rajkumar currently runs a cricket academy in Delhi, West Delhi Cricket Academy, where he continues to mentor young cricketers.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli was the standout performer with the willow for India, amassing 240 runs, including a century and a fifty, at an average of 80 and a strike rate of 105.26 in three matches.
When will Virat Kohli Return to Action?
After the conclusion of the ODI series against New Zealand, India star batter Virat Kohli will be on break for a couple of months before joining the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) squad for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is tentatively scheduled to take place on March 26.
However, the veteran Indian batter will return to international cricket after six months when Team India takes on England in the away ODI series in July. Virat Kohli is expected to play 15 more ODI matches across five bilateral series as he looks to strengthen his case for his participation in the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
After retiring from T20Is and Tests, Virat Kohli is solely focusing on ODI cricket, intending to extend his illustrious career till the marquee event. Since his return to international cricket in October 2025, the veteran Indian batter has aggregated 616 runs, including three centuries and as many fifties, at an average of 88 in nine matches. His performance in the ODI series against New Zealand further reaffirmed his commitment to play the 2027 World Cup.
In his ODI career, Virat Kohli has amassed 14797 runs, including 54 centuries and 77 fifties, at an average of 58.72 in 311 matches. In international cricket, Kohli is the second-leading run-getter with 28215 runs, including 85 centuries and 146 fifties, at an average of 52.73 in 559 matches.
