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King Kohli Ends 5 Year Drought

By REDIFF CRICKET
July 22, 2023

IMAGE: The emotion says it all!
As he brought up his ton, Virat Kohli first hugged Ravindra Jadeja, who had the best seat in the house for the memorable knock.
Then removing his helmet, he acknowledged the team and took a bow.
Then the kiss on his wedding ring, an acknowledgement to the role wife Anushka Sharma has played in his life. Photographs: BCCI/Twitter
 

Wasn't it just last year that calls to drop Virat Kohli were doing the rounds? In the past one year, Kohli has marked his comeback and how!

King Kohli continues his return to form and as always, he asserts his dominance on world cricket in style.

Playing in his milestone 500th match for India, Kohli marked the occasion by scoring a sublime century. It was his 76th ton in international cricket.

A determined Kohli walked in on day two of the second Test, unbeaten on 87. The star batter brought up his 29th Test ton and took his tally of centuries in Test cricket on par with the incomparable Sir Donald Bradman.

While Sachin Tendulkar had 75 hundreds from 500 international matches, Kohli takes his count to 76.

 

After falling for 76 in the first Test against the Windies, a determined Kohli looked to be in complete control from ball one.

The knock was even more special as he ended a five-year drought to score a century in Test cricket outside India.

Back in 2018, Kohli had scored four away Test hundreds. Thereon, he waited five long years to hammer his 29th Test ton.

 

This is his second ton in the West Indies. The last time Kohli crossed the three figure mark in the Caribbean was seven years ao, in 2016, when he converted his first into a double hundred.

Following Friday's knock, Kohli is now placed third on the list of most hundreds by active cricketers. With his 29th ton, Kohli surpassed New Zealand's Kane Williamson (28). Sitting on top of the list is Steve Smith with 32 tons, followed by Joe Root with 30. David Warner, likely playing his final Test series, is fifth with 25 centuries.

REDIFF CRICKET

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