Cricket - Second One Day International - India v England - Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, India - February 9, 2025 India's Virat Kohli looks on REUTERS/Sahiba Chawdhary
Nov 30 (Reuters) - Virat Kohli ruled out any possibility of returning to test or Twenty20 internationals after his player-of-the-match century guided India to a 17-run win over South Africa, but said he felt as prepared as ever to continue playing in the 50-over format.
The 37-year-old defied his age on Sunday as his running between the wickets yielded 49 runs, including 40 singles, as he scored 135 runs from 120 balls. He also hit seven sixes and 11 boundaries in his record-extending 52nd ODI hundred.
"Yeah, that's how it is going to be. I am just playing one format of the game," said Kohli, who retired from international T20s last year after India won the 20-over World Cup. He retired from test cricket earlier this year.
Former India captain Kohli still plays T20 cricket in the Indian Premier League.
"I have played 300-odd ODI games, and so much cricket over the last 15-16 years. If you are in touch with the game, you know your reflexes are there, you can bat two hours in the nets without taking a break, you are meeting all those markers," he added.
Kohli said he had taken the previous day off to conserve his energy for the match in Ranchi.
"I've never been a big believer of a lot of preparation... all my cricket has been mental. As long as I feel, mentally, I can play the game, I work physically hard every day," he said in the post-match presentation.
"As I said many times before, if I arrive somewhere, I'll arrive 120%."
Kohli, who last played a competitive game in October against Australia, proved his readiness when he, along with Rohit Sharma, put together a 136-run partnership that laid the groundwork for India's victory.
"I thought, let me just go out and hit the ball, not think too much about any of the other stuff. Just me and the ball coming at me. And just enjoy the game of cricket, which is the very reason I started playing this game," Kohli said.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
