Highlights
- This is Virat Kohli's 71st century
- The former Indian captain has equalled Ricky Ponting;s record of 71 international tons
- Kohli scored 122 runs off 61 deliveries at a strike rate of 200.00
IND vs SL: Cometh the hour, cometh the man, Virat Kohli stands up, punches the air, raises his bat, and kisses his wedding ring, a sight that had become almost rare for Indian fans and the fans of the game. India had nothing to lose from their last Asia Cup game but the only positive the team will gain is the return of vintage Virat Kohli. When this tournament started, Kohli had already shown glimpses of his return and how he was enjoying the game but little did anybody expect that he will bow out of Asia Cup with his crown reinstated on his head.
Virat had been in a rough patch and despite all his struggles, he just could not break free from the shackles of his bad run. Till September 8, 2022, Virat hadn't scored a century for 1020 days. The former Indian captain never departed for low scores, but it was his conversion rate that bothered his fans and the entire cricketing fraternity. As the speculations around his mindset and his place in the team kept on growing, the invincible Kohli kept on working in silence and has now reaped the results of his hard work. While speaking after the match, Virat opened up on what he had to go through.
"Today was the build of the last few games, I batted out of my skin, to be honest, and I surprised myself. What surprised me was my 60s became failures; quite shocking for me, batting pretty well and contributing but doesn't seem to be enough. I have had many suggestions, and a lot of advice has come my way; people were telling me I was doing this wrong, that wrong, I picked out all the videos from the best time I had; same initial movement, same approach towards the ball and it was just what was happening inside my head I wasn't able to explain it to anyone", said Virat.
ALSO READ | King of big stage, Virat Kohli's journey in Asia Cup so far
The Indian skipper who recently took his time off from cricket said that it was only MS Dhoni who reached out to him when he stepped down from Test captaincy and also said that people have just wanted to take advantage of him by using his name and giving him batting tips on television when they could've reached out to him personally.
(Inputs from PTI)
