In a pretty one-sided affair, the Pune crowd was the loudest when Virat Kohli neared his hundred. KL Rahul made it clear that he wanted Kohli to complete his first World Cup century in eight years. Not enough runs were left in the run chase and Kohli played every delivery in the last few years. However, Bangladesh bowlers did not want Kohli to get to the milestone and on two occasions they bowled wide deliveries to rob the former Indian skipper of a well-deserved hundred. However, umpire Richard Kettleborough identified what they were trying to do and gave Kohli a chance to get to the three figures.
In the 41st over, it was clear that Kohli was going for the ton. Pacer Hasan Mahmud knew it as well and bowled a slower bouncer that went over Kohli's head. Umpire Adrian Holdstock had to call it a wide. The delivery left Kohli frustrated as he knew what the Bangladesh pacer was trying to do. Unable to hit boundaries in the over, he ran hard between the wickets.
In the next over, left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed bowled from round the wicket. He bowled it flatter and down the leg side. Kohli let the ball go into wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim's gloves. He was visibly frustrated by the spinner's tactics. But umpire Kettleborough did not call it a wide. Kohli then decided to finish it off early and finished the match with a six to get to his century.
The 34-year-old remained unbeaten for 103 off 97 balls including six fours and four sixes. He guided India to a seven-wicket win at MCA Stadium, Pune with 51 balls to spare.
The infamous Suraj Randiv incident
This was not the first time a bowler has tried to give an extra deliberately. Against India in 2010, Sri Lankan spinner Suraj Randiv denied Virender Sehwag a well-deserved century by bowling a wide ball down the leg side. Even former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara was allegedly heard saying in Sinhalese behind the stumps “If he hits the ball, he gets the run.”
In the aftermath, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) was handed a one-match ban. Also, Tillakaratne Dilshan faced a fine for encouraging the spinner to bowl a no-ball.
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