Virat Kohli notched up his 29th Test century, his 76th international century, and his 12th international hundred against West Indies on Friday in the ongoing second Test of the series, in Port of Spain, which is also Kohli’s 500th international game for India.
It felt like it was a gift from pacer Shannon Gabriel to Virat Kohli on the latter’s 500th international match and he became the first player to hit a ton on his 500th game.
While a batsman gets nervous when closing in on a century – Virat Kohli was on 97* – instead of testing the batsmen with a bouncer or a back-of-length ball in the off-stump channel, Gabriel offered a half-volley in Kohli’s radar for the India superstar to cream it through backward point in his trademark front foot drive shot to bring up the milestone.
This wasn’t one of the most dominating Virat Kohli centuries, but it was as convincing as any. It had looked as inevitable as any when he got going after taking 21 balls to get off the mark on Day 1.
Though the West Indies bowlers were not as challenging or imposing as Virat Kohli has faced against most other oppositions in the world, the pitch wasn’t the flattest or easiest to bat as it was a bit ragged in a few areas and offered some turn for spinners – cue Rohit Sharma’s Rohit Sharma’s dismissal.
But Kohli was patient, and immaculate in his judgment of lines and lengths and his shots: his century came at a whopping 95 percent controlled shots, as shown by ESPNcricinfo. Even as the bowling was or sub-standard quality, the batting by Virat Kohli was of the highest quality.
And his perseverance and grinding effort for 180 balls for his hundred showed his celebration. His milestone celebrations these days are rather muted than the aggressive ones in the first half of his career.
After removing his helmet, he embraced non-striker Ravindra Jadeja in a hug. Then Virat Kohli bowed to the dressing room which was up on their feet, and kissed his wedding ring.
Watch: Virat Kohli’s celebration after reaching century in 500th match
Ending a 5-year wait in his 500th Int'l Game with a 💯
Just @imVkohli things!
.#INDvWIonFanCode #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/5j5td33iO2— FanCode (@FanCode) July 21, 2023
