Caution is often viewed as an essential instrument in an attacking player's toolbox, but the surge of adrenaline in the cauldron of international sport can be just as decisive. Virat Kohli seemed to be cruising towards yet another ODI century before that momentary rush intervened, and it was over: Virat Kohli c Michael Bracewell b Kyle Jamieson 93.

On another night, in another match and in another situation, Kohli would have cleared that back-of-a-length delivery over mid-off for four, or curbed the shot and played it along the ground. A momentary lapse denied Kohli his 54th ODI century and the packed Kotambi Stadium in Baroda a perfect ending. It proved that even Kohli, a veteran of over 550 international matches and a master in ODI chases, can be human, after all.

"If I am being brutally honest, the way I'm playing right now, I'm not thinking about milestones at all. If we were batting first, I probably would've gone harder. But in a chase, with a total on the board, I had to play the situation. I felt like hitting more boundaries, but experience kicks in. The only thing on my mind was getting the team into a position where we could win comfortably," Kohli said, unfazed by the missed milestone, while receiving the Player of the Match award.

What should have been an auto-piloted flight to victory for India and a century for Kohli instead turned into a phase of scramble and struggle on Sunday night. Kohli's abrupt dismissal added a twist to India's chase of 301, with New Zealand bouncing back with three quick wickets. But KL Rahul, aided by some assistance from Harshit Rana, saw India through to a four-wicket win.

Kohli dictates the chase, again

Garry Kasparov, a former world chess champion, once said that knowing the right time to attack is as much an art as a science, and even for the best it is often guesswork. Kohli displayed both art and science in his assault on the New Zealand bowlers, and there was no guesswork. He was clear about when to launch the attack and when to stop - the first half of his 91-ball innings was marked by aggression, while the second half was more about rotation of strike.

It was clearly Kohli's night, as he appeared to simply continue from where he had left off in the Vijay Hazare Trophy a couple of weeks ago, when he struck a century and a fifty. Greeted by a rousing reception, he announced his arrival with a straight-driven four off Zak Foulkes. Another boundary followed a couple of deliveries later - a half-pull, half-hook through backward square leg - and there was no stopping him. With such a flourishing start, Kohli overtook Shubman Gill, the opener and his partner at the other end, in no time.

"The basic idea is I bat at number three, if the situation is tricky, I back myself to counterattack rather than just waiting around. Any ball can have your name on it, so there's no point being passive. At the same time, you don't play outrageous shots - you stick to your strengths. Today, when I walked in after Rohit got out, I felt if I pushed hard in the first 20 balls, we could put the opposition on the back foot. That ended up making the difference," Kohli explained his approach.

Kohli's 91-ball knock can be seen in two halves, with six boundaries coming in his fifty (off 44 deliveries) and only three more boundaries, including a six, in the second half, in which he was more sedate, scoring 43 off 44 deliveries. He went close to 40 deliveries without hitting a boundary, restraining himself to singles and twos on a pitch that was on the slower side.

"The way he's striking the ball at the moment makes things look so easy, even on a surface like this where it wasn't easy to start, he made it look easy," skipper Shubman Gill said of Kohli's innings.

Since the two ducks in Australia in October, Kohli has been in total command. His scores since then have been 74* (against Australia), 135, 102 and 65* (all against South Africa), and now 93 against New Zealand, totalling 469 runs in his last five innings at an average of over 155. On Sunday night, he went past 28,000 international runs (28,068) - the quickest to reach the mark - and overtook Kumar Sangakkara (28,016) to become the second-leading run-getter in international cricket, behind Sachin Tendulkar (34,357).

"If I look back at my whole journey, then it is nothing short of a dream come true for me. I have always known my abilities, but I also knew I had to work extremely hard to get where I am today. God has blessed me with far more than I could ever ask for. I look back at my journey with a lot of grace and gratitude, and I feel really proud of it," Kohli said modestly, adding, "I'm extremely grateful. It's a blessing, honestly. To give so much happiness to so many people just by doing what you love - playing the sport you've loved since childhood - what more can I ask for? I'm living my dream, and seeing people smile makes me happy."

With form, fitness and clarity of purpose firmly in place, Kohli's trajectory now stretches well towards the 2027 World Cup.