Virat Kohli proved his mettle with a superb unbeaten knock of 103 off 97 balls, which included 9 fours and 3 sixes, guiding India to a comfortable 7-wicket win over Bangladesh in their Cricket World Cup match at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune yesterday.

India cruised to their fourth consecutive, equaling New Zealand in points. Kohli the dynamic right-hander was in top form as he sealed his century with a match-winning six over deep mid-wicket region, reaching the target in 41.3 overs with seven wickets in hand.

Kohli who notched up his 48th ODI century, was named the Man of the Match. Both India and New Zealand maintained an unbeaten record with 8 points each. However, New Zealand leads the table with the highest net run rate of 1.923, closely trailed by India with a run rate of 1.659, followed by South Africa and Pakistan.

Bangladesh played without their skipper Shakib Al Hasan, and their standing skipper Najmul Hossain, won the toss and elected to bat on this Pune wicket. The decision worked in their favour, with openers Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das forming a solid partnership that yielded 93 runs in 14.4 overs.

However, Indian bowlers put up an impressive performance to break this partnership. Hasan was dismissed for 51 in 43 balls, including 5 fours and 3 sixes, with wrist spinner Kuldip Yadav taking the wicket in the 15th over. Litton Das continued to anchor the innings, scoring 66 in 82 balls with 7 fours, while all-rounder Mahmudullah scored 46 in 36 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes guiding Bangladesh to 256 for 8 wickets in their allotted 50 overs. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravindra Jadeja each claimed 2 wickets for India.

Australia coming off their first victory over Sri Lanka will meet Pakistan in Bangalore today (20).

Chief scores

Bangladesh: 256 for 8 wickets (Tanzid Hasan 51, Litton Das 66, Tawhid Hridoy 16, Mushfiqur Rahim 38, Mahmudullah, Nasum Ahmed 14, Jasprit Bumrah 2/51, Ravindra Jadeja 2/38, Mohammed Siraj 2/38.

India: 261 for 3 wickets in 41.3 overs (Rohit Sharma 48, Shubman Gill 53, Virat Kohli 103*, Shreyas Iyer 19, K.L Rahul 34*, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 2/47).

Dhammika Ratnaweera reporting from India