Virat Kohli’s century drought in international cricket came to an end on Thursday during the 11th match of the 2022 Asia Cup match between India and Afghanistan. Kohli scored an impressive score of 122* off 53 balls, with six sixes and twelve fours. It’s his 71st century in international cricket, and first ever century in T20 international cricket. The much-awaited century comes after 1020 days, 103 games and several questions surrounding his game and impending retirement. He last hit a century in Day-Night Test cricket against Bangladesh in Kolkata in 2019.
Despite India being eliminated from the group stage, Kohli’s performance as the highest run-scorer in the Asia Cup has increased the morale and hopes of the entire country for the upcoming World Cup in Australia.
With this inning, Virat Kohli set a few records. By scoring a 71st century, he matched former Australian star Ricky Ponting. Simultaneously, the former India skipper became the first batsman in history to make a century against Afghanistan. England’s Luke Wright had previously scored 99 runs against Afghanistan. Kohli also has the highest individual twenty-over score in Indian history.
After Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul, Kohli is the fourth Indian player to achieve a hundred in all three formats of the game. He also holds the record for being the fastest to reach 3500 T20I runs and having the most 50+ scores, in T20 Internationals.
During the post-match ceremony, Kohli stated that he is grateful to his family, saying: “You see me standing here because one person has put things in perspective for me. That’s Anushka. This hundred is for her and for our little daughter Vamika as well.” Netizens applauded the batsman for giving credit to his wife for sticking with him during the tough times, despite being the target of cricket trolls for a long time.
Twitterati and the cricket fraternity have taken to the social media platform to congratulate the cricket star:
It has been a wonderful knock @imVkohli. So good to see him in such good form.
Well played 👏#INDvsAFG pic.twitter.com/mYV3zEmPLs— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) September 8, 2022
Maiden T20 century , so happy for you @imVkohli You totally deserved it🔥 Immense respect for such a brilliant innings #INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/H1EVC1N86A
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) September 8, 2022
Well done champion kohli @imVkohli happy to see you getting a 100 👏 #indvsafghanistan #AsiaCup2022
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) September 8, 2022
Unbeatable! Virat stands tall…. Yet again! A stamp of authority with a smashing 💯. #AsiaCup2022 #INDvAFG #ViratKohli𓃵 pic.twitter.com/KAVz25djzH
— Anjum Chopra (@chopraanjum) September 8, 2022
Century after 1021 days! His first in T20Is. What a day for Virat Kohli and Indian cricket! More centuries to come. @imVkohli #AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/WZWglIZVbu
— Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan) September 8, 2022
@imVkohli dancing again! What a lovely sight
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) September 8, 2022
#Virat ❤️
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) September 8, 2022
Take a bow @imVkohli form is temporary class is permanent! Fabulous knock 👏 keep shining
— Angelo Mathews (@Angelo69Mathews) September 8, 2022
It’s been a while, but happy to see Virat Kohli back in international century scoring mode. First T20i hundred, and hopefully a precursor to bigger tasks ahead.
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) September 8, 2022
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