India, Sri Lanka and Australia were playing the Triangular series in Australia. After the back-to-back loss, for India, playing Sri Lanka in the 11th game of the Commonwealth Bank Series 2012 in Hobart, it was do or die. To ensure that they did not exit the tournament, they needed to win the game with a Bonus-point.

Additionally, they had just lost the test series against Australia 4-0. And on that day, Virat Kohli, the Chase Master, gained notoriety

The Story of the Incredible Chase

Sri Lanka achieved an impressive 320 runs for 4 wickets in their allotted 50 Overs after Dhoni elected to bowl first. Tillakaratne Dilshan's 11th ODI century was excellently assisted by K Sangakkara's top-notch 105 runs as he hit an unbeaten 160 off 165 balls.

320 seems like a not-so-big total to chase in 50 over and India have chased such a total before. 

The fact that they needed to complete the chase in under 40 overs to remain alive in the CB Series, though, made it more difficult.

The first glimpse of chase master 

India was already two down when Virat Kohli entered the chase, with Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar back in the pavilion. The hitherto favored Gambhir-Kohli combination provided a preview of India's chances in the game.

But more was required to pursue a 300+ score under Australian conditions. To keep India in the series, a miracle was necessary. And that's what took place. The miracle!

Virat started with a self-assured leg-flick to get things going. Kohli began his mark by expertly flicking Malinga's low full-toss toward the square-leg area rather than the leg stump.

Soon the master cover drive appeared, and it is among the best cover drives you will ever see in a game. And his stunning cover-drive shot set the tone for the remainder of the innings.

The greatest bowler of the limited over format, Malinga was looking clueless and Virat forced the Sri Lanka captain to take Malinga off the attack.

Once Virat Kohli appeared at ease, his leg flicks and looks started to become more frequent. On that particular day, Kohli never gave the impression that he would be stopped as he ran with the game in his hand.

Gautham Gambhir and Virat Kohli's partnership ended after they combined for a crucial 115 runs. Before being Run out, Gambhir scored 63 runs off of 64 balls.

Then Suresh Raina, a fellow left-hander with a weak spot for short balls, entered the scene. It was a challenging circumstance for the two because they wanted to maintain momentum in addition to affording a wicket there. 

Hopes for the final were dying but then Virat Unleashes his beast mode. 

He brilliantly accelerated his innings to reach the century mark. And it was obvious that he had not yet tasted the team's possibilities of making the finals. Can you believe India needed to score 321 runs to win the match in 36.4 overs?

At 133 runs off just 86 balls, Virat Kohli maintained his perfect record. Two sixes and 16 fours were part of his inning. Raina provided outstanding support, scoring a quick 40 off just 24 balls.

Kohli vs Malinga

Virat Kohli almost made a joke of the chase by hitting virtually every Sri Lankan bowler that turned to face him. Particularly Lasith Malinga, who arrived for his final over as Virat was getting close to his century.

The bowler, who was renowned for taking 4 wickets in 4 balls, was destroyed for 4 fours in 4 balls, which were preceded by a 6. 7th over by Malinga with a reading of 2 6 4 4 4.

Lasith Malinga's statistics showed 96 runs in 7.4 overs with an economy rate of 12.52.

The Rise of chase master

Since the Knock of Virat Kohli,  India's new strategy for prevailing in ODIs has been to chase targets. And Virat Kohli is a chase master who averages around 80 while chasing. He enjoys chasing as he said he likes to bat with a target in mind.

There was a time, when 9 out of 10 times Virat had to take his team home while chasing and if failed even a decent target looked like climbing the mountain for team India. This describes how good he was at chasing.