Cricket
oi-Gaurav Sharma
Virat
Kohli
powered
India
to
a
3-0
ODI
series
win
over
South
Africa
and
collected
the
Player
of
the
Series
award
after
the
third
ODI.
Across
the
three
matches,
Kohli
scored
302
runs
at
an
average
of
151
and
a
strike
rate
of
117.05,
including
two
centuries
and
an
unbeaten
fifty
in
the
chase.
The
batter
began
with
135
in
Ranchi,
then
added
102
in
Raipur,
before
closing
the
series
with
an
unbeaten
65
in
Visakhapatnam
as
India
won
the
decider
by
nine
wickets.
This
Player
of
the
Series
honour
is
Kohli’s
12th
in
ODIs,
placing
Kohli
behind
only
Sachin
Tendulkar,
who
received
the
award
15
times.
Virat
Kohli
led
India
to
a
3-0
ODI
series
victory
against
South
Africa,
earning
the
Player
of
the
Series
award
with
302
runs
at
an
average
of
151,
including
two
centuries
and
one
fifty.
This
is
Kohli’s
12th
Player
of
the
Series
award
in
ODIs,
with
Sachin
Tendulkar
having
15
such
awards.
Kohli
Virat
Kohli
Player
of
the
Series
reflects
on
batting
freedom
After
the
match,
Kohli
spoke
about
the
mental
space
behind
this
run
of
scores
and
how
it
shaped
the
performances.
“Honestly,
playing
the
way
I
have
in
the
series
is
the
most
satisfying
thing
for
me.
I
feel
really
free
in
my
mind.
I
haven’t
played
like
this
in
2-3
years.
I
know
when
I
can
bat
like
that
in
the
middle,
it
helps
the
team
a
long
way;
makes
me
confident,
any
situation
in
the
middle,
I
can
handle
that
and
bring
it
in
favor
of
the
team,” Kohli
said
in
the
post-match
presentation.
“When
I
play
freely,
I
know
I
can
hit
sixes.
There’s
always
levels
you
can
always
unlock,”
he
added.
Virat
Kohli
Player
of
the
Series
highlights
special
Ranchi
hundred
Kohli
also
picked
one
innings
as
the
standout
from
this
series
of
three
hundreds.
“The
first
one
at
Ranchi
(his
favourite
of
the
three
tons
this
series)
–
because
I
hadn’t
played
a
game
since
Australia.
Just
how
your
energy
is
on
the
day,
Ranchi
is
very
special
for
me
and
I’m
very
grateful
as
to
how
these
three
games
have
gone,”
Kohli
said.
