After a show-stopping, six-filled, record-breaking century against West Indies in the ODI series opener, Virat Kohli promised to keep pushing the boundaries of excellence in the format, while still remaining humble and grateful.

Up until he walked out to bat, to a raucous welcome in Trivandrum, Kohli had been measured and subdued on the field. Usually super-charged and expressive, he kept the energy within his bubble as India opted to bowl under clear skies and a baking sun.

All his inner expression was reserved for later in the evening, through the course of his 30th century in ODI chases, which also took him past 15,000 ODI runs.

Speaking to broadcasters, Kohli said he had never really focused on milestones, but felt “very grateful and very blessed” to be in a position to have played for this long.

“Just keeping my head down, working hard, and thanking God for everything that I've been blessed with and the opportunities that I've gotten in my life to be where I am,” he said. “We have a very blessed life and a blessed journey because so many people want to be here, but we get to be the lucky ones.

“So, we better put our head down and just work hard every day of our lives”.

Kohli’s peaceful self-reflection stood in stark contrast to the mauling West Indies’ bowlers received at his hands. Never has he hit as many sixes in an ODI innings (9), the first of which came merely four balls into his innings. It kicked off his mini-battle with Alzarri Joseph, by the end of which he had looted 53 runs off his 26 balls.

The big hits were strung together by the trademark anchoring of singles, even in a century that came at a much faster clip. But Kohli hardly slowed down as he went deeper. He put it down to having a clear understanding of his game, and keeping himself “physically very fit, because the game is more or less in the mind”.

“I've never been a guy who practiced a lot, even when I was playing all three formats, as you know. So, it's just for me about staying mentally fresh, staying in the present moment and just expressing myself really out there to play in a certain way, get used to this template more often”.

At 74 balls, it was Kohli’s third-fastest ODI hundred, encapsulating a brilliant run of form in his 38th year, a surge that puts him in good stead leading into the 2027 World Cup. Kohli admitted the challenge of scoring faster has helped free his mind.

“I've got a challenge at this stage of my career to kind of up the ante and play a gear or two higher, and yeah, that was exciting for me to work on. Again, it excites you when you have to unlock a new version at this stage of your career, which will eventually help any team that you play for, be it playing for India or in the IPL. It's really helped me a lot to play with a free mind, and I think that's what's working for me,” he said.

“But I think to follow a free mind, you need a fit body. So, for me it works the other way around. I stay physically fit and then I'm able to visualise the game in the way that I want to play, which allows me the best chance to go out there and execute in the way that I did tonight”.

Shubman Gill, his partner-in-chase, was less brutish and conventionally classier, reading the pace and bounce of the surface superbly from the get-go. The captain was all praise for Kohli’s redefined approach.

“He’s batting superbly, and I think he's enjoying the game a lot more, playing with freedom and enjoying the game,” Gill said after the game. “And I think those are the effects of his batting. He always had the game, he always had the ability to clear the boundary at will, and I think he's doing that right now”.

But while Kohli has promised himself to play positively, he has a demarcation in his mind to never let that run him too loose. “I'm going to continue to play like that, but not be reckless. There's a fine line which, as a professional, as an experienced player, I should have the ability to execute in this way without playing reckless shots and get the team through”.

Kohli’s ODI achievements put him on a pedestal very few, if any, can share, but he reiterated his oft-repeated lesson in humility, staying grateful and not forgetting his roots.

“That's something that we tend to forget when we are caught up with the hustle of the world and the positions we get into with so much attention and fame and so much love from the fans.

“It can be very easy to forget where you came from. But I think just looking back at the journey from when you started as a child just makes you feel grateful. I enjoy each and every minute that I'm out there playing for India, because I understand that, as I said, there could have been a possibility that I wouldn't be standing here. I wouldn't have played for India at all. That could have been my reality as well.

“But I'm getting to live all these amazing moments representing my country, playing in front of such big crowds and doing the job for the team. As a cricket player, this is all that I dreamt of, and I'm getting it. So, I have nothing but gratitude in my heart, and, as I said, I just want to put my head down, keep working hard, put a smile on my face, and hopefully make other people smile too”.

Kohli intends to pass on the same message to the younger generation, urging them to give it their all: “Don't think a lot about all the other stuff outside of the field. Once you enter the ground, this is everything, and it should be everything for you guys. And just put your body on the line.

“As I said, put your head down. If you have to run four doubles in an over when you're batting at 150, you have to do it. There are no excuses”.