As he hustled down the track to Gudakesh Motie, transferring his weight effortlessly into the flighted delivery and sending it over long-on, Virat Kohli, in his 18th year in international cricket, had unlocked a first: reaching his fifty and his hundred in an ODI with six.
There are Kohli centuries that you'd remember for the ease; then there are centuries you would remember for the records. Thiruvananthapuram will remember witnessing a Kohli century that wasn't just dominant; it was, well, sixy.
That Kohli hit a century in another successful chase is so common now it's barely worth a mention. This was the 25th instance. That he would become just the second batter to reach 15,000 ODI runs in ODIs was also expected, so was the 55th ODI century. But Kohli smashing nine sixes in an ODI, more than the entire batting line-ups of both India and West Indies combined (eight), might not have been on anyone's bingo list.
The tickets for the first ODI between India and West Indies were sold out in less than half an hour. Thiruvananthapuram is Sanju Samson's hometown, but with him not around, people flocked to watch Rohit Sharma and Kohli for one last time. Rohit dazzled briefly before falling for 32 in the 12th over.
Enter the chasemaster. The last time Kohli played an ODI at this venue in 2023, he hit 166 against Sri Lanka, smashing eight sixes, his personal best at the time. Who knew in the next two hours and a bit, he would beat that record.
Kohli doesn't need extra motivation walking into a cricket field. But even by his standards, he looked pumped up as Thiruvananthapuram rose in unison to welcome their superstar. The DJ had maxed out the volume and the noise around the venue, which by then was packed to the brim, was deafening.
When Kohli came in, India were going at more than six an over, comfortably placed in their pursuit of 296. The Kohli of old would have taken his time to settle in, constructed the innings, knocked the ball around and tried to take the chase as deep as possible. Not this new avatar of Kohli.
Alzarri Joseph has had reasonable success against Kohli in ODIs. Before this game, he had dismissed him three times in eight games. He went short first ball against Kohli, at 144.5kph. But Kohli, just three balls into his innings, was not having any of it as he stepped inside the line and pulled. The top edge flew all the way over fine leg. A wry smile on Kohli's face, bedlam in Thiruvananthapuram.
Since the start of 2021, Kohli has hit 56 sixes in 64 ODIs. Twenty-nine of those have come in the last year and a half, in 20 ODIs. Ever since his retirement from Tests, Kohli has rediscovered a part of himself that had stayed dormant in the 50-over format.
"I got a challenge at this stage of my career to kind of up the ante and play a gear to a higher end," Kohli told the host broadcaster after the game. "That was exciting for me to work on. It excites you when you have to unlock a new version at this stage of your career, which will eventually help, anything that you play for, be it playing for India or in the IPL. It's really helped me a lot to play with a free mind and I think that's what's working for me."
But there is a method behind this new six-hitting Kohli avatar.
Two days before the opening ODI against West Indies, Kohli was the first to walk out for a net session. While Rohit, Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad were playing the more conventional straight-bat shots, Kohli, almost from the get-go, took the aggressive route. He first faced the spin of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Naman Dhir and peppered the cover and straight regions. There were plenty of false shots, but he kept backing himself to clear the ropes. Once done, he moved to the other net to face Gurnoor Brar and Prasidh Krishna, and continued with his aggressive ploy.
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Kohli took 36 more balls to hit his second six of the night. This one got Kohli his fifty, off 40 balls. The bowler was again Joseph, whose fuller-length ball outside off was smacked over long-on with disdain. And once past fifty, Kohli opened up. Roston Chase went short and was twice pumped over deep midwicket. He then picked Joseph's slower ball and hacked it over long-on, and later smirked at the bowler with an expression that said: yeah, gotcha.
He reached his century with his sixth, an effortless down-the-ground slam. The Mexican wave was in full flow by now, the DJ was blaring classics, and Tony Greig's famous "they are dancing in the aisles" would have suited the occasion perfectly.
Kohli, however, wasn't done. Having reached three figures, he charged down to Motie, and in typical Kohli fashion, with those inhumanly elastic wrists, dumped him over covers. Fittingly, Kohli finished the game with two majestic across-the-line sixes against Keacy Carty as India romped home with plenty to spare. Kohli finished with nine sixes in the innings. For context, Adam Gilchrist's most in an ODI innings was eight.
Kohli is on the last stretch of his international career. He has already retired from Tests and T20Is and has said that the 2027 ODI World Cup will be his last. Wherever he now travels, the narrative becomes: this is the last time Kohli is playing at this venue, and it's as if he has decided, if this is the last time, let me play like it.
The numbers will tell one part of the story, the scorecard the other, but what a packed Thiruvananthapuram crowd felt every moment of the 132 minutes that Kohli was in the middle will stay with them for a lifetime. Some Kohli innings feel theatrical; some like a showdown. This Kohli innings felt like a spectacle.