Virat Kohli become 12th Indian player to play 100th test match. Ongoing first test against Sri Lanka is his 100th test where he scored 45 runs before getting out to Lasith Embuldeniya. Kohli joined the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma to the 100 Test club for India.
Kohli has 27 Test centuries in his career so far with 7962 runs in the bag at an average of 50.39. The journey that started at Sabina Park on June 20, 2011, against the West Indies, really took off with a century in Adelaide. Earlier coach Rahul Dravid presented 100th baggy blue to commemorate his 100th appearance in whites:
What a moment to commemorate his 100th Test appearance in whites 🙌🏻
Words of appreciation from the Head Coach Rahul Dravid and words of gratitude from @imVkohli👏🏻#VK100 | #INDvSL | @Paytm pic.twitter.com/zfX0ZIirdz
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 4, 2022
Of the 11 men before him who achieved this major landmark in their careers, none had the ability to polarize opinions the way Kohli has done in a scintillating cricketing journey that started back in 2008. He had started off as a precocious kid and few ever doubted the great he would one day go on to become. By the time Virat Kohli played his first Test, he had already started making a name for himself. Could he hold his own the longest format? As it turned out, he could.
In 2011, India were a good Test side at home but they were whipping boys overseas. England, Australia, South Africa overwhelmed and dominated India ruthlessly. India’s batsmen were incapable of handling the hostility of the opposition’s pacers and their own pacers were not up to the mark simply put, they were not good enough.
Virat Kohli endured a lot of rough patch in the early years of his career in the Indian Test team. In 2014, after India lost momentum and another Test series in England, Kohli felt the heat. He had performed miserably with the bat and there was then the impending tour of Australia.
A special 💯 for @imVkohli #VK100 @Paytm #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/HVmPEY7erw
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 4, 2022
It was in the Australian summer of 2014-15 that India’s fortunes in Test cricket changed for the better. Kohli had buried the ghosts of the past and led the charge with 4 superb hundreds and by the end of the series, despite a 0-2 defeat, he had firmly established himself as the leader of the pack MS Dhoni had retired midway during the series and the baton had been passed on to a more aggressive young captain with a clear vision for the future.
Over the next several years, Virat Kohli not just pressed on with his desire to become the best batsman in the world across formats, he also made no secret about the need to propel Test cricket back to the top again. He played his heart out, scored hundreds, double hundreds, sledged, celebrated without ever holding back and strengthened his pace attack with the clear focus of winning series in England and Australia.
The last two years have admittedly not been the best for Virat Kohli. There has been no run drought as some of the criticism would have you believe, but what is also true is that he has not scored a hundred in well over two years. Moreover, Kohli failed to win major world titles for India. The 2019 World Cup and the 2021 World Test Championship final were missed opportunities even after India looked like the best team in both tournaments.
“I honestly never thought I would play 100 Test matches. It has been a long journey. We played a lot of cricket over the course of playing those 100 Test matches. A lot of international cricket. I am just grateful that I’ve been able to make it to 100. God has been kind. I have worked really hard for my fitness. It’s a big moment for me, for my family, for my coach, who is also very happy and very proud of this Test match as long as I am concerned,” Virat Kohli said in a video posted by BCCI.
100th Test for Virat Kohli 🤩
How many will he score?#WTC23 | #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/186YjJzNAe
— ICC (@ICC) March 4, 2022
#TeamIndia Head Coach Rahul Dravid presents @imVkohli with his 100th baggy blue to commemorate his 100th appearance in whites.#VK100 | #INDvSL | @Paytm pic.twitter.com/PVFhsbe4Rj
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 4, 2022
For more latest updates on Bollywood and Cricket visit my page on Facebook Durgesh Tiwary’s View and website Cricket Movie Website