IND vs SL Live: Virat Kohli century drought – It has been 840 days and counting, the century machine Virat Kohli has gone without scoring a ton. As he is stuck on 70 centuries for over two years, at ‘Second Home’ Bengaluru, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has gifted him with a dry and flat track for the Day-Night Pink-Ball Test against Sri Lanka, starting Saturday. Follow India vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
The M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch has historically helped batters score plenty of runs. Add to that, the brown, dry surface for the 2nd Test, it’s ideal for any batsman, let alone Kohli. The former Indian captain who has a Test century at the venue, will be hoping to bank on his familiarity with the ground to break his century drought.
IND vs SL Live: Virat Kohli’s ‘SECOND HOME’ gifts him a dry, flat pitch for Pink-Ball Test, can Kohli end his century drought? – Follow Live Updates
Virat Kohli @ M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Test:
- 103 & 51* vs New Zealand, Aug 2012
- 12 & 15 vs Australia, Mar 2017
On Friday, he was seen taking a close look at the pitch. With Bengaluru weather generally dry in March with temperatures hovering over 30s, the pitch is expected to be a batting paradise. Having played for Royal Challengers Bangalore for 15 years, Virat Kohli knows that very well. Incidentally, his last century also came in a pink-ball day-night Test against Bangladesh and he will be hoping to ace this one.
IND vs SL Live: Virat Kohli’s ‘SECOND HOME’ gifts him a dry, flat pitch for Pink-Ball Test, can Kohli end his century drought? – Follow Live Updates
IND vs SL Live: Virat Kohli’s ‘SECOND HOME’ gifts him a dry, flat pitch for Pink-Ball Test, can Kohli end his century drought? – Follow Live Updates
Virat Kohli’s Worst Nightmare – However, if he fails to fire with the bat, his record of 50+ average in all formats will be under threat. Kohli is the only batsman to have an average of 50+ across all three formats.
Virat Kohli currently averages 50.35 in Tests and if he scores 42 or below in the first innings of the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka, his Test average will go down below 50. Since his last Test century, his average has gone down to 28.75. Until his 70th century, he averaged 54.97.
Kohli touched 50 average in his 52nd Test against England at the Wankhede Stadium when he slammed 235 in the first innings. He touched a career-best average of 55.10 when he slammed 254 against South Africa in Pune in 2019. But his stats have slowly come down. On his 100th Test in Mohali, he managed 45.
IND vs SL Live: Virat Kohli’s ‘SECOND HOME’ gifts him a dry, flat pitch for Pink-Ball Test, can Kohli end his century drought? – Follow Live Updates
Virat Kohli’s averages in three formats:
- Test: 50.35
- ODI: 58.07
- T20I: 51.50
IND vs SL Live: Virat Kohli’s ‘SECOND HOME’ gifts him a dry, flat pitch for Pink-Ball Test, can Kohli end his century drought? – Follow Live Updates
IND vs SL 2nd Test: Why is Virat Kohli’s BIG RECORD under threat?
- Virat Kohli hasn’t scored a century in the last 838 days.
- His last century was in November of 2019 against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens.
- His career-high average in Test was 55.10 after his 254 not out against South Africa in 2019.
- Since his 70th century, he has averaged only 28.75 in 29 innings.
- He has to score 43 or more in the first innings in the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka to keep the 50+ average in Test.
- If Kohli scores 42 or below in the first innings, for the first time in 6 years, he will lose the 50+ average across three format record.
IND vs SL Live: Virat Kohli’s ‘SECOND HOME’ gifts him a dry, flat pitch for Pink-Ball Test, can Kohli end his century drought? – Follow Live Updates
Back to Bengaluru ❤️. Can’t wait for tomorrow 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/hzBVKUe6MC
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 11, 2022
However, three other Test greats — Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar — had never their stats dip below 50. Despite occasional lean patches Gavaskar, Tendulkar and Dravid maintained a 50+ average throughout their career.
Gavaskar ended up with a 51.12 average while Sachin Tendulkar managed a career average of 53.78 while Rahul Dravid finished his batting career with an average of 52.31. But Virat Kohli isn’t too bothered about maintaining that. During the South Africa tour, Kohli said he wasn’t running after the records and numbers.
IND vs SL Live: Virat Kohli’s ‘SECOND HOME’ gifts him a dry, flat pitch for Pink-Ball Test, can Kohli end his century drought? – Follow Live Updates
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