In pictures: Virat Kohli’s six best innings at the Eden Gardens

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Virat Kohli is 35 today, and what better way to celebrate than by coming up trumps against South Africa in the World Cup at the Eden Gardens. While the Proteas will be looking to send Kohli back to the pavilion early, My Kolkata goes down memory lane to pick out six instances when Kohli refused to leave the Eden pitch without setting the stage alight

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Pink-ball perfection: Eden played host to India’s first-ever pink ball Test in November 2019, with Bangladesh taking up the mantle of beating an unstoppable Indian side at home. But the Bangla Tigers were bundled out for 108 in the first innings, leaving India enough time to take charge. After losing two wickets for 43, India did not look back, as captain Kohli got into his stride, marching his way to 136 off 194 on a pitch that was anything but a belter. While Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane chipped in with 50s, it was Kohli who took centre stage to mark a historic occasion with his belligerent brilliance. Ishant Sharma backed up his skipper with the ball, taking nine wickets across both innings to condemn Bangladesh to an innings defeat

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A Royal 100 against KKR: Coming off a victory against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their backyard, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) looked primed to seal the double against RCB at Eden in April 2019. But King Kohli had a different script in mind. Playing without AB de Villiers, RCB found themselves at 59 for two. Batting through the whole innings, Kohli took matters into his own hands en route to a majestic fifth IPL century that came off just 58 balls. Nine fours and four sixes from Kohli’s flashing blade even got a lot of the KKR fans to root for him. Kohli’s heroics led RCB to 213, which proved 10 runs too much for the hosts

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Starring in a stalemate against Sri Lanka: In a rain-affected Test at Eden versus Sri Lanka in November 2017, India found themselves bowled out for 172 in the first innings, with Kohli getting an 11-ball duck. Sri Lanka handed India a lead of 122 runs to overhaul as they posted a total of 294. Refusing to stay down for too long, Kohli turned on the style with a splendid 104 not out, a chunk of which entailed batting with the tail. Striking at 87, Kohli declared the Indian innings at 352, in an gutsy move to get a result out of the game. With little over a session to get Sri Lanka all out, Kohli’s captaincy came to the fore as the Lankans were reduced to 75 for seven, but an Indian win was not to be

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Putting Australia to the sword: A sultry September afternoon in Kolkata that witnessed numerous drinks breaks and almost made Matthew Wade faint also saw another champion’s knock from Kohli. In the second ODI of the series, Kohli chose to bat first and came in at 19 for 1, with Rohit Sharma back in the hut. What followed was another masterclass in pacing an ODI knock, using the conditions against the opponents to come out on top. Kohli missed out on another century but his 92 off 107, supported by Ajinkya Rahane’s 55, powered India to 252. With Kohli shuffling his bowlers adroitly, Australia were bowled out for 202. Even though Kuldeep Yadav pocketed a hat-trick, it was Kohli who was deservedly adjudged man of the match

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Cometh the hour, cometh Kohli: A star-studded Eden, including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Amitabh Bachchan, was expectant as India took on Pakistan in the mother of all rivalries in a Super 10 match of the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup. With rain curtailing the overs to 18-a-side, Pakistan posted 118 on a nippy wicket with a sluggish outfield. In response, India were rattled at 23 for 3 in less than five overs, with the new ball moving more than the feet of Indian batters. But once the powerplay had been negotiated, the Kohli show began. With Yuvraj Singh for company, Kohli took calculated risks and pierced gaps across Eden with surgical precision. On reaching his 50, he bowed in tribute to Tendulkar in the stands. “Stay there,” came the message from the Master Blaster. Kohli obliged, finishing unbeaten on 55 off 37, as Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit his customary winning runs

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Kohli’s Christmas treat for Kolkata: As the City of Joy geared up for Christmas in 2009, Kohli took it upon himself to play Santa on Christmas Eve. After Sri Lanka posted a stiff total of 315, thanks to a century from Upul Tharanga, India were in a spot of bother at 23 for 2 on a chilly evening under lights. Kohli, who walked in seeing the back of Tendulkar as early as the fourth over, partnered Gautam Gambhir in a magnificent 224-run partnership. While Gambhir’s career-best 150 not out off 137 balls was the headline act, Kohli showed grit and maturity to notch up his first international hundred for India. Even though Kohli could not wrap up the chase, as he would so often do in the years to come, the 21-year-old had announced himself on the biggest stage, prompting Gambhir to share his man of the match award with the kid who was set to become an icon