Curated By: Aditya Maheshwari
Last Updated: July 21, 2023, 20:27 IST
Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
Virat Kohli hits his 29th Test century on Friday (AP Image)
Virat Kohli, who is playing his 500th international match, made it a memorable one by hitting a sublime century.
Batting maestro Virat Kohli scored his first overseas Test century since December 2018, on Friday in the second Test match against West Indies at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad. Kohli completed his century with a fine square drive which raced away for a boundary. Kohli, who is playing his 500th international match, made it a memorable one by hitting a century.
It was Kohli’s 29th Test century and second this year in red-ball cricket. The 34-year-old, who got off the mark with a straight drive after consuming 20 dot balls, played cautiously to help India recover from the four wickets which they lost in the second session of Day 1.
Kohli looked all focused on Day 2 and reached the mark early to become the first batter to hit a century in the 500th international match. He hit 10 boundaries to reach the triple-digit mark and silenced the critics who questioned his place in the side after the World Test Championship Final.
It was a quiet celebration after Kohli completed his 76th international century as he hugged Jadeja, removed his helmet and then bow down followed by kissing his wedding ring on his neckchain.
Kohli, who had to work extremely hard for his 76 on a slow pitch in the series opener, showed grit and resilience on the opening day of the second Test also as he showed discipline at the start of the innings.
The 34-year-old equalled Sir Donald Bradman’s Test match century tally – 29.
The batting maestro also got past AB de Villiers in the list of most international centuries against West Indies. It was Kohli’s 12th versus West Indies and is currently tied with Jacques Kallis as the second spot behind Sunil Gavaskar who hit 13.
Most international hundreds against West Indies
13 – Sunil Gavaskar
12 – Jacques Kallis
12 – Virat Kohli
11 – AB de Villiers
Kohli’s century helped India take control in the 100th Test match played between the two teams since the first was played in Delhi in November, 1948 at the start of the Caribbean side’s historic inaugural tour to the sub-continent. Despite being winless against their opponents for more than 21 years, the West Indies still lead India 30-23 in Test victories across the 99 matches, while the Asian Giants will look to reduce the leaf after the ongoing match.
