The Indian captain scored his 29th Test hundred in his 500th international match, leading India to a huge total against West Indies
Virat Kohli, the Indian cricket captain, silenced his critics with a sublime century in the second Test against West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. Kohli scored 129 runs off 221 balls, hitting 14 fours and a six, as he guided India to a mammoth total of 438 in their first innings. Thus Virat Kohli ends overseas century drought with a masterclass in Trinidad.
Virat Kohli, the Indian cricket captain, silenced his critics with a sublime century in the second Test against West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. Kohli scored 129 runs off 221 balls, hitting 14 fours and a six, as he guided India to a mammoth total of 438 in their first innings.
This was Kohli’s first overseas Test century in five years, ending a long wait for the prolific batsman who had last reached three figures in the longest format outside India in December 2018, when he scored 123 against Australia in Perth.
Ex. Captain also achieved a personal milestone by playing his 500th international match for India, becoming the 10th player in history to do so. He joined the elite club of Sachin Tendulkar (664), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (538), Rahul Dravid (509), Mohammad Azharuddin (504), Sourav Ganguly (424), Yuvraj Singh (402), Anil Kumble (403), Harbhajan Singh (371) and Virender Sehwag (374).
Virat Kohli also surpassed Sehwag’s record of 8586 runs to become the fifth-highest run-scorer for India in Test cricket. He now has 8642 runs in 111 Tests, with an average of 49.38 and a staggering 28 centuries under his belt. He is only behind Tendulkar (15921), Dravid (13288), Sunil Gavaskar (10122) and VVS Laxman (8781) in the list of Indian batsmen with the most Test runs.
Virat Kohli came to bat on the first day of the second Test when India were 153 for 2, after openers Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal had given them a solid start with a 121-run stand. Kohli steadied the innings with Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 47, and then forged a crucial partnership of 140 runs with Ravindra Jadeja, who remained unbeaten on 48.
Kohli reached his half-century with a boundary off left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican and then accelerated his scoring rate. He brought up his century with another four off fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, raising his bat and helmet to acknowledge the applause from his teammates and the crowd.
Ex. Captain Kohli was eventually dismissed by Warrican, who had him caught by Joshua Da Silva at short leg. Kohli walked off the field to a standing ovation, having played one of his finest knocks in recent times.
Kohli also showed his class off the field, as he met Da Silva’s mother and embraced her in a heartwarming gesture. Da Silva is making his Test debut for West Indies as a wicketkeeper-batsman.
India have already won the first Test by an innings and 92 runs and are looking to seal the series with another dominant performance. West Indies were 72 for 1 at stumps on the second day, trailing India by 366 runs.
How Virat Kohli Break Four Records :
He became the *fifth-highest run-scorer* for India in Test cricket, surpassing Virender Sehwag’s 8586 runs⁴.
– He scored his *first overseas Test century* in five years, ending a long drought since his 123 against Australia in Perth in 2018².
– He played his *500th international match* for India, becoming the 10th player in history to do so²⁵.
– He equalled Ricky Ponting for the *second-most international hundreds* with 71, behind only Sachin Tendulkar’s 100⁵.
some outbound links
(1) IND vs WI: Virat Kohli slams 29th hundred, breaks Sachin’s record. https://news24online.com/sports/ind-vs-wi-virat-kohli-slams-29th-hundred-breakes-sachins-record/152193/.
(2) Virat Kohli Records, Stats, Career Info – Sportskeeda. https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/virat-kohli-records.
(3) Virat Kohli Records, Test match, ODI, T20, IPL international batting …. https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/virat-kohli-253802/tests-odi-t20-records.
(4) 4 Records Owned By Sachin Tendulkar That Virat Kohli Can Break Before He Retires. https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/cricket/4-records-owned-by-sachin-tendulkar-that-virat-kohli-can-break-before-he-retires-article-102024367.
(5) Virat Kohli registers massive records! Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, AB de Villiers all left behind. https://www.indiatvnews.com/sports/cricket/ind-vs-wi-2nd-test-virat-kohli-registers-massive-records-sachin-tendulkar-brian-lara-ab-de-villiers-all-left-behind-india-vs-west-indies-port-of-spain-2023-07-21-882301.
(6) Virat Kohli Profile – Cricket Player India | Stats, Records, Video. https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/virat-kohli-253802.
(7) Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/india-batsman-virat-kohli-celebrates-reaching-his-century-news-photo/1020059034.