The immortal part of the BCCI, the current vice-President, Rajeev Shukla, has praised the Indian legend Virat Kohli’s stupendous innings and also the fine hand from Harshit Rana, who scored the maiden half-century of his career.
India might have lost the game to New Zealand and the series as well; however, the two teams played an entertaining game in Indore. Daryl Mitchell scored a century in the series, and Virat Kohli in return; however, only the Kiwis managed a win.
Some crucial innings, alongside the big century from Kohli, included two half-centuries from lower-order Indian batters Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana, who helped India close in on a chase, but their dismissal led to India’s unfortunate defeat.
BCCI vice-president praises Virat Kohli and Harshit Rana for their splendid innings
Virat Kohli took guard of the Indian innings after Rohit Sharma was dismissed within the powerplay. The chasemaster had a massive role to play as India was chasing a mammoth total of 338 runs against the Kiwis in the series decider.
However, wickets kept falling from the other end, as neither of the top-order players, Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, or KL Rahul, could manifest something special and aid Kohli in chasing the massive total.
Kohli stood firm as a lone commando; however, he never looked worried or underconfident in his innings, which seemed as fluent as they could be. He later got some fine hands from Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana in the match, which reignited the hope of millions of Indian fans.
The BCCI vice-President Rajeev Shukla has also praised the two Indian stars for their exceptional show, which was a delight to watch despite India’s thrashing defeat.
BCCI’s Rajeev Ji tweeted – “Though we lost the match but what a performance by @imVkohli and Harshit Rana. Superb, fabulous @BCCI”
Though we lost the match but what a performance by @imVkohli and Harshit Rana. Superb, fabulous @BCCI
— Rajeev Shukla (@ShuklaRajiv) January 19, 2026
Harshit Rana and Virat Kohli’s 99-run partnership revived India’s chances in the mammoth chase
When Harshit Rana came in to bat, India were already 6 wickets down, and Kohli had just reached a well-made half-century alongside Nitish Kumar Reddy in a partnership that gave the Indian innings some breathing space.
Ravindra Jadeja could not hold on to the good work from the all-rounder Reddy, who scored his maiden ODI half-century in Indore and was dismissed early. Less than 200 on the board, and India was 6 wickets down with a mammoth chase in front of them.
However, Rana stepped in not only as an aid to Virat Kohli but also took command of scoring runs quickly from the other end. He denied a double of Kyle Jamieson to Kohli and instead deposited the final ball into the stands for a massive six.
Rana was dismissed after having scored his maiden half-century in white-ball cricket and a partnership of 99-runs alongside Virat Kohli. The partnership shattered India’s hopes to a large extent.
Virat Kohli is nearing Sachin Tendulkar’s massive century record
The great Indian batsman, who is now officially the second-highest run-getter in International cricket after having surpassed Kumar Sangakkara in Vadodara, has been flawless in the 50-over format.
The second-highest ODI run getter with 14500+ runs, Kohli scored his 85th hundred in international cricket and 54th in One-Day Internationals. He is chasing the massive record of a hundred centuries in international cricket by Sachin Tendulkar, despite playing in just one format.
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