Virat Kohli’s 100th Test: Defining moments of his glittering career | Cricket News – Times of India

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NEW DELHI: With the advent of T20s, the interest in Test cricket was gradually going down. To keep the crowds coming in to witness the longest format of the game, the ICC introduced the World Test Championship.
But as the governing body of the sport, the ICC can only introduce measures, it is upto the teams and the players to make the game interesting, since it is totally another feeling to play in front of a boisterous crowd cheering for you, as the adrenaline rush raises the bar as far as the performances of the players are concerned.

And if there is one player who can attract the crowds with all his histrionics, fist-pumping on the field, throwing down the gauntlet for the opposition off the field and then match that with his performances with the bat, it is Virat Kohli.

Kohli took over from MS Dhoni as India’s Test captain when the latter quit Test cricket midway during the 2014 tour of Australia – after the third Test at the MCG.

But Kohli first led India in the first Test of the series at Adelaide as Dhoni missed that match due to a thumb injury. Kohli took to Test captaincy just like a fish to water and not only smashed hundreds in both the innings but almost led India to a famous victory.

Powered by its swashbuckling batting and a fearsome fast-bowling attack, Team India rose to the top the Test rankings under Kohli and stayed there for over three years. But Kohli’s best moment as captain came when India registered their maiden Test series triumph in Australia after seven decades of attempting to conquer the land Down Under.

Border-Gavaskar-Trophy

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Kohli so far has seven double hundreds to his name. Six out of those seven double hundreds have been scored at home and one abroad. And when he notched up 204 against Bangladesh at Hyderabad in February 2017, it was the fourth consecutive Test series in which Kohli smashed a double ton, breaking the record of Don Bradman and Rahul Dravid who had scored double centuries in three successive series.

Kohli now stands on the verge of playing the 100th Test of his glittering career – against Sri Lanka in Mohali from March 4. Virat will become only the 12th Indian cricketer to complete a 100 Test matches.
Virat will be felicitated by the BCCI and the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) at the match on Mohali, for which there will be a crowd at the stadium at 50% capacity to witness the former India captain complete a rare career feat.

WTC

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It’s fitting that Virat will join the 100 Test match club, considering his passion and dedication towards making sure the original format continues to survive and thrive is one of the biggest highlights of his resume.
TimesofIndia.com here looks at five of the most memorable Test knocks by Kohli the batsman which set him on the path to greatness and helped him become the modern day legend that he is today:
116 vs Australia in Adelaide (2012): Australia won by 298 runs
A maiden Test century is always one to savour and when it comes against the best team in the world in their own backyard it becomes all the more special.
Ask any cricketer and they’ll tell you that Australia is the toughest country to tour. The Aussie crowd is known for its raucous behavior and constant heckling of touring teams.

Adelaide-2012

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Virat Kohli had ruffled quite a few feathers in Australia by flipping the bird at the Sydney crowd, who he later said were abusing his family.
And by the time the Indian team reached Adelaide for the fourth Test they had already lost the series 0-3 after losing the first three Tests. But if there was any bright spot from an Indian point of view on that Aussie tour it was Kohli’s maiden Test hundred.
Batting first, Australia declared their innings at 604/7 thanks to double hundreds by Ricky Ponting (221) and Michael Clarke (210). India then endured a familiar batting collapse on foreign soil and were bundled out for 272 runs. 116 out of those 272 runs were scored by Virat and the next highest score by an Indian in that innings was Wriddhiman Sahas 35.
Kohli reached his century off 199 balls and his emotionally-charged innings was studded with 11 fours and a six and his was the last wicket to fall in the Indian first innings. With another dismal performance in the second innings, India went on to lose the match by 298 runs. But Virat had silenced the Aussie crowd and also made them respect him thanks to his batting display.
119 vs South Africa in Johannesburg (2013): Match drawn
This was India’s first Test after the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar. And Kohli announced himself as the true successor of The Master by scoring his first Test century in South Africa, batting at No. 4 at the Wanderers in December 2013.
Against a hostile bowling attack, Kohli played a chanceless knock, scoring 119 runs with the help of 18 fours, to take India to 280. The Proteas were bowled out for 244 in their first innings.

Johannesburg-2013

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And then Kohli fell short of another century by just four runs in the match when he fell for 96 runs in the second innings. Kohli added 222 runs with Cheteshwar Pujara (153) for the fourth wicket to take India to 421.
Chasing a 458-run victory target, the Proteas were well on the path to victory thanks to Faf du Plessis’ 134 and AB de Villiers’ 103. Du Plessis was run out by a direct throw from Ajinkya Rahane, with South Africa needing just 16 runs to win.
But the last wicket pair of Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn played out two successive maiden overs from Zaheer Khan and Mohammed Shami drawing boos from the crowd. Steyn hit the last ball of the match from Shami for a six as the match ended in a draw.
115 and 141 against Australia in Adelaide (2014): Australia won by 48 runs
MS Dhoni not available due to a thumb injury. Virat Kohli’s first Test as India’s captain. In Australia. Aggression to the fore. Let the bat do the talking. Never back down. Trust Virat Kohli to walk the talk with his in-your-face-attitude and win at all costs approach.

Adelaide-2014-1

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The first Test of the 2014 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in December had all the makings of a classic. Batting first, the Aussies rode on centuries by David Warner (145), Michael Clarke (128) and Steve Smith (162) to declare at 517/7.
Kohli walked out to bat at the fall of Murali Vijay off Mitchell Johnson who was bowling thunderbolts at 145-150 kmph at the stroke of lunch on Day 3. First ball as India Test captain, facing the fastest bowler in the world at that time, who bowls a scorching, perfectly directed bouncer. Kohli ducked but not fast enough and was hit bang on the helmet, right on the badge.
As the Aussie players rushed over to check on Kohli, the Indian captain looked unflustered. He checked his gear and prepared himself for the next thunderbolt from Johnson and defended the 150 kmph screamer calmly. All set. Time to meet fire with fire.
Kohli got off the mark with a drive down the ground for 3 runs – a solid stroke that showed that he was not rattled by the hit on the helmet. Pujara faced the next over from Ryan Harris and then lunch was taken.

Adelaide-2014-2

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Kohli faced the first ball from Johnson after lunch and out came the trademark gorgeous cover drive against a good length delivery and the ball went screaming through the turf. From then on, Kohli answered everything that the Aussies threw at him, including foul-mouthed verbals.
The thunderbolts from Johnson were dispatched with equal brute force, the cutters from Harris and Peter Siddle were dealt with exquisite timing and the spin of Nathan Lyon was played with elegant footwork from the Indian captain as he reached his hundred off 158 balls. Kohli fell to Johnson after hitting 12 fours in his 115-run knock as India were bowled out for 444 runs.
Riding on David Warner’s 102, Australia declared their second innings at 290/5, setting India a 364-run target.
Vijay fell for 99 and Kohli hardly got any support from the others. But he made his first innings 115-run knock like a precursor of even greater things, as he took it upon himself to chase down the target. It was in many ways unthinkable that India would go for the win.
On a Day 5 track, the Indian captain reached his 50 off 69 balls and 100 off just 135 balls against a rampaging Aussie attack. The home side heaved a sigh of relief when Kohli fell to Lyon after slamming 16 fours and a six in his incredible 141-run knock off just 175 deliveries. And that changed the course of things completely. India lost by just 48 runs but Kohli reaffirmed his status as a modern-day great at the Adelaide Oval.
149 against England in Birmingham (2018): England won by 31 runs
1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0, 7, 6, 20. These were Virat Kohli’s scores in the five Test matches on the England tour in 2014. Nothing short of disastrous.
When the Indian cricket team landed in England in 2018, these failures were repeatedly played out by the critics, the English media and others, questioning his techniques, tactics and temperament in the swinging conditions of England.

Birmingham-2018

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But Kohli was prepared for this. Having helped by Sachin Tendulkar and Ravi Shastri in reworking his stance and technique, the Indian captain again let his bat do the talking with a masterful hundred in the first Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham in August 2018. It was his way of not just silencing his critics, but also making sure that he conquered another foreign land as a batsman.
Batting first, England were bowled out for 287 runs, but the Indian batsmen failed to capitalize on the good work by the bowlers as all fell like ninepins. All but the captain, whose 149 stood out like a shining star in the total of 274, in which the next best score was 26 by Shikhar Dhawan.
Leading from the front, Virat executed shots to all parts of the ground and notched up his 22nd Test century off 172 balls. His was the last wicket to fall, just after hitting a six, to go with 22 fours in his knock.
Kohli reached his 22nd Test hundred in 113 innings, behind Don Bradman (58), Sunil Gavaskar (101) and Steve Smith (108).
The Indian captain followed up his 149 with a 51-run knock in the second innings and was once again let down by the other batsmen, as India, chasing a 194-run target, were bowled out for 162 and lost the match by 31 runs.
Kohli not only ended as the highest run-getter in the series but also didn’t fall even once to James Anderson – his 2014 tour nemesis.
200 against West Indies in Antigua (2016): India won by an innings and 92 runs
When Virat Kohli reached 200 against West Indies in the first Test at North Sound, Antigua in July 2016, it was not only his maiden double hundred in first-class cricket but he also became the first Indian captain to hit a double century overseas.
At the age of 27, Virat also became the youngest captain to hit a double century in the West Indies, having reached his 100 off 134 balls on Day 1.

Antigua-2016

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Kohli reached his 200 off 281 balls on Day 2 – a knock studded with 24 hits to the fence.
Kohli’s 200, Ravichandran Ashwin’s 113 and Shikhar Dhawan’s 84 enabled India to declare their first innings at 566/8.
The Windies were bowled out for 243 and 231 (following-on) as India won the match by an innings and 92 runs.





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