Most International CENTURY: Virat Kohli’s century drought has finally come to an end after three long years. The talismanic Indian batter scored his maiden T20I century against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday. This was his 71st International century and he has now equalled Ricky Ponting’s tally, becoming joint-second in the list of most international tons. Follow Asia Cup 2022 LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN
Most International CENTURY: Virat Kohli ends VODOO, equals Ricky Ponting for 71 centuries, only behind Sachin Tendulkar, Check OUT
A long wait finally comes to an end.
𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓’𝐒 𝐀 💯 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐊𝐎𝐇𝐋𝐈!
DP World #AsiaCup2022 #INDvAFG #BelieveInBlue #TeamIndia #KingKohli #71 pic.twitter.com/aypvxXYs6D
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) September 8, 2022
It was an inconsequential match for both the teams as India and Afghanistan have failed to qualify for the final of the Asia Cup this year. India’s skipper Rohit Sharma opted to sit out and in his absence, Kohli opened the innings alongside KL Rahul as the latter won the toss and opted to bat first.
Kohli was on song right from the start of the innings, punishing the Afghan bowlers by hitting them all around the park. He was very effective especially against the spinners as he used his feet impressively to hit them all around the park. The 33-year old, who has been in good touch in the tournament brought up his third fifty of the tournament off 32 balls in the 11th over of the innings.
Two quick wickets then fell immediately in the 13th over but Kohli was undeterred by it as he went on with his business from the other end. While Rishabh Pant was struggling at the other end, Kohli shifted gears by the 17th over as he scored four boundaries in a space of six balls to reach close to his maiden T20I ton.
He was at 90 by the end of 18 overs and got the job done in the first two balls of the 19th as she slammed Fareed Ahmed for a four and a six. He brought up his century after 1020 days in style with a picture perfect pull shot much to the delight of the Indian fans as he finally gave them something to cheer about. His last international hundred came in November 2019 in a Test against Bangladesh.
Even after his century he inflicted further damage on Afghanistan as he went on to smash 17 runs off five balls in the final over to end his innings with an unbeaten 122 off 61 balls.
- With the knock he is now only behind Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 100 international centuries.
- He also becomes only the fourth Indian cricketer after Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul to score centuries in all the three formats in international cricket.
- His 122 is also the highest score by an Indian batsman in T20I cricket.
Most 100s in all international cricket
100 Sachin Tendulkar (782 inngs)
71 Virat Kohli (522)
71 Ricky Ponting (668)
Highest individual T20I scores for India
122* V Kohli today
118 Rohit Sharma vs SL Indore 2017
117 SK Yadav vs Eng Nottingham 2022
111* Rohit Sharma vs WI Lucknow 2018
110* KL Rahul vs WI in Lauderhill 2016
Speaking about his elusive hundred, he said, “Actually I was shocked. This is the last format I thought. It was an accumulation of a lot of things. The team has been open and helpful. I know there was a lot of stuff going outside.”
He also dedicated his knock to his wife Anushka Sharma and daughter Vamika. “And I kissed my ring. 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.”
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Most International CENTURY: Virat Kohli ends VODOO, equals Ricky Ponting for 71 centuries, only behind Sachin Tendulkar, Check OUT
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