New Delhi: Virat Kohli scored his 75th international century, 28th in Tests, against Australia. After Shubman Gill, batting on a comparatively easy surface, Kohli showed his character and stroke-making to reach his century. With five wickets down for 395, India is in a commanding position till Kohli is standing on the crease.
The long wait for his Test century is over and the moment was marked with a calm celebration, and it is who Kohli now, maybe, is. He chipped the ball to forward square and got a single to reach his century. Celebrating the moment, Virat kissed his necklace with his wedding ring. While he announced his comeback with centuries in white ball cricket, not getting a Test ton since 2019 was worrying some experts and fans. While the pitch is easy to bat on, it requires patience to get settled on turf like this and Kohli has left no question marks on his batting now.
His knock relied much on defense and running between the wickets as it featured only five boundaries. He came up with his century in 241 balls and India is heading towards surpassing Australia’s 480 as he bats with Axar Patel.
The Man. The Celebration.
Take a bow, @imVkohli ??#INDvAUS #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/QrL8qbj6s9
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 12, 2023
The morning was not pleasant for India as they lost Ravindra Jadeja early. Trying a lofted shot against Todd Murphy twice, he escaped it once but was then caught by Usman Khawaja. Jadeja departed after scoring 28 off 84.
It was the 84-run stand between Kohli and KS Bharat that rekindled India. Bharat played an extrinsic knock of 44(88), which featured two fours and three sixes as he hit Cameron Green’s short balls for huge maximums. His partnership with Kohli was an answer to his critics and an example where another newcomer succeeded while batting with a senior mate. He was finally dismissed by Nathan Lyon as Peter Handscomb caught the ball on short leg.
ICYMI – @KonaBharat dispatched the short balls from Cameron Green into the stands.
Live – https://t.co/KjJudHvwii #INDvAUS @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/FSAXCiCPNr
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 12, 2023
In the inning, Gill also scored a century on day 3, which was a result of his patience and the form he is carrying across formats. He scored 128 off 235 and the partnership between Gill and Pujara was the catalyst in India’s big total.
On the other hand, India has something to worry about as Shreyas Iyer complained of back pain and has gone for scans.
