India’s cricket superstar Virat Kohli ended his long drought for Test centuries by hitting his 28th Test hundred on day four of the fourth Test against Australia in Ahmedabad. Kohli had not reached a century since November 2019, but his 241-ball knock finally broke the streak. He resumed on his overnight score of 59 and reached the milestone with a single off Nathan Lyon, triggering wild celebrations at the world’s biggest cricket stadium.
Acknowledging the crowd and the dressing room, Kohli kissed the locket on his gold chain and smiled as he looked up to the sky. Commentator Ravi Shastri described the moment as the “600-kilo gorilla” off Kohli’s back, adding that he would grow taller by the end of the evening.
Kohli’s lean phase in 2021 saw him fail to reach three figures in more than 1,000 days. He relinquished his captaincy of the Twenty20, one-day, and Test formats in late 2021 and early 2022. However, he hit his first century after 1,020 days in the Asia Cup T20 tournament in September 2021 and has been in top form since then.
Kohli finished as the leading run-scorer in the T20 World Cup in Australia and hit three one-day international centuries, including two against Sri Lanka in January. He now has a Test average of more than 48 in 108 matches since making his debut in 2011 and has struck 75 centuries across the three international formats.
Despite his impressive record, Kohli remains behind Australia’s Steve Smith and England’s Joe Root in the number of Test centuries among the “fabulous four” – the leading four batsmen of the modern era. Smith overtook Kohli during his lean phase and has 30 Test centuries, while Root has 29. New Zealand’s Kane Williamson has 26 Test hundreds.
Kohli’s previous Test century came against Bangladesh in what was the first day-night Test in India. His emotional performance against Australia is sure to be remembered by fans and cricket enthusiasts alike.
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