 Despite the poor run of form, Kohli was retained in the ODI squad for a three-match series against Australia in October. The first and third matches of the series were washed out and in the second match at Visakhapatnam, Kohli scored his third ODI century – 118 off 121 balls – which helped India chase down the target of 290 after losing the openers early. He won the man of the match and admitted that he was under pressure to keep his place in the team after failures in the two previous series. In late-2010, Gambhir was named captain of a largely inexperienced ODI squad to play against New Zealand, and Kohli maintained his place. In the first ODI at Guwahati, Kohli scored a 104-ball 105, his fourth ODI hundred and second in succession, in a 40-run victory and was awarded man of the match. In the second and third ODIs, he made 64 and 63 * respectively, sharing 100-plus partnerships with Gambhir in both matches chasing. India completed a 5 – 0 whitewash of New Zealand, while Kohli's performance in the series helped him become a regular in the ODI team and made him a strong contender for a spot in India's World Cup squad. He was India's leading run-scorer in ODIs in 2010, with 995 runs from 25 matches at an average of 47.38 including three centuries.
