India defeated Virat Kohli in the first test of the two-match series against Sri Lanka Kohli Will achieve the milestone of playing 100 matches in the longest format.
“Playing 100th Test for your country is an incredible feeling, we all dream of playing for India when we were playing in our home premises. After playing for the country and you are in your 100th Test Come on, it’s an incredible feeling. Reaching the 100th Test means you have played very successfully for the country. No carrier will be smooth, there will be ups and downs,” Gavaskar posted on the official Twitter handle. said in the video BCCI,
The great Sunil Gavaskar takes us in a race of emotions that @imVkohli can feel ahead of his 1⃣0⃣0⃣th t… https://t.co/rFMdZJso3w
—BCCI (@BCCI) 1646321324000
“Whether Kohli is fielding or going to bat, the crowd will pick him up. That’s what the crowd does, especially when it’s the home crowd. Everyone would want him to score a century in his 100th Test. Incredible journey, me Remember he made his debut in the West Indies in 2011, you could see the fire in him there too.”
Kohli was about to play his 100th Test during this period. South Africa series earlier this year, but as luck would have it, he will reach the milestone in India itself with 50 per cent crowd in attendance at the PCA Stadium, Mohali.
“It takes something else to provoke a fast bowler. Kohli is one of those rare batsmen who likes to sledge bowlers. He is different, he likes to get under their skin. He is Javed Miandad’s in that sense. His progress has been phenomenal. The consistency with which he has played should be high in the 100th Test and beyond,” Gavaskar said.
Earlier this year, Kohli stepped down as Test leader but it was not as if the batsman left a lasting legacy as a captain in the longest format of the game.
Kohli holds the record for most Test matches played as India’s Test captain (68) and also holds the record for most Test wins by an Indian captain (40). Only Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh have won more matches as captain in Test cricket than Kohli.
Kohli first led the team in Test cricket in 2014 against Australia. His last match as captain was the Cape Town Test in South Africa, which India lost by seven wickets. Filling MS Dhoni’s shoes was not going to be easy, but Kohli quickly cemented his position as one of the country’s best thinkers in Test cricket.
He last scored a century in international cricket in 2019 against Bangladesh and since then the entire nation has been eagerly waiting for the batsman to register his 71st century.
One can expect him to register the milestone in his 100th Test and if it does, it will mean that the stars are indeed aligned for the batsman once in a generation.