‘As Soon As I Go The 100 I Laughed so Hard, I Was Like…’: Virat Kohli on Ending His Century Drought in Asia Cup

Virat Kohli scored his 71st international century against Afghanistan in Asia Cup 2022 (AFP Image)

Virat Kohli recalled the moment when he scored the six to reach his 71st international century in the Asia Cup 2022.

Batting maestro Virat Kohli opened up on ending his much-awaited century drought with his maiden T20I century in Asia Cup last year. Kohli was struggling to get to triple figure for almost three years, before the Asia Cup ton, his last international century came way back in 2019. The batting maestro was under the scanner for his dip in form and some also started questioning his place in the T20I team. However, in the crucial match against Afghanistan, Kohli silenced his critics and smashed his first T20I century to end the drought.

In an episode of PUMA’s Let There Be Sport documentary series, the 34-year-old recalled the moment when he scored the six to reach his century in the multi-nation tournament. Kohli said that after reaching the mark he laughed so hard.

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“The ball before I got to the 100, is the time I felt, oh I am on 94, I could probably get this. And the next ball went for six. But the thing is that as soon as I go the 100, I laughed so hard. I was like, ‘main iske liye ro raha tha 2 saal se? (Was I cribbing about this for 2 years?),” Kohli said in the episode, which is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

Kohli said that the moment happened and ended instantly and he didn’t think about it much after that.

“Like just for this 2 seconds, I let myself go through that? That moment happened, it ended. Next day, the sun goes up again. It wasn’t going to be forever. It’s not like I scored this 100, and I live this moment for the rest of my life. It was so funny, I laughed so hard. I was like, this is all that it,” Kohli further said.

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The legendary batter further admitted that he had tears in his eyes when he talked with his wife Anushka Sharma about the century.

“Not in that moment, but when I spoke to Anushka… (there were tears),” said Kohli.

The 34-year-old has been in incredible form after ending his century drought as he has already hit a ton in both ODIs and Tests this year. While he has also scored 420 runs thus far in IPL this season.