Team India’s star batter Virat Kohli created history as he smashed a century in his 500th International match. Kohli ended his long wait of five years for a century in an overseas Test. This was also Kohli’s 76th international ton, as the batter inches closer to breaking the incredible 100-century record of Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar.
Kohli resumed his innings on 87 on Day 2 of the second and final Test match against West Indies and reached his century with a four against Shannon Gabriel.
With his 29th century, Kohli has equaled the record of Australia’s great and one of the best batters in the history of the game, Sir Donald Bradman, who had also scored 29 Test centuries in his illustrious career. Kohli also went past Tendulkar in the list of most tons in the West Indies, hitting his second on Caribbean soil. Among active batters, Kohli has the most centuries in international cricket. He is a part of the ‘Fab-4’ which also includes England’s Joe Root, Australia’s Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson of New Zealand.
Over the past few years, the three have been significantly more consistent with their performances. On the other hand, Kohli was going through a lean patch in his career. There were many who questioned Virat’s place in the Fab 4.
Root and Smith in particular made enormous strides in the longest format. In fact, Root redefined his game in the longest format in 2022. He has been the most consistent performer for England in the ongoing Ashes.
Former Pakistan Captain Compared Joe Root’s Game To Virat Kohli
Recently, during a YouTube live session hosted by former Pakistan captain Salman Butt, a fan asked if Kohli can adapt to aggressive gameplay as seamlessly as Root. Responding to the fan, while Butt lauded Root for his transition, he also insisted that Kohli doesn’t need to do anything different in his game. He said:
“If all of your friends are doing something and you aren’t, you will eventually pick some habits from them because you’re eventually playing with them. Indian batters, both new and old, like to play the ball on its merit. There would only be one or two players who play very aggressively, whereas England’s culture has become going out-of-the-box. If someone plays defensively, he looks out-of-the-box. It’s opposite in India.”
He added:
“I don’t think Virat Kohli needs to do anything like that. He’s a much superior player,” Butt said, replying to the fans’ question.
