Asia Cup: Virat Kohli hits maiden T20I CENTURY, equals Ricky Ponting for most Centuries
Asia Cup: The long wait for a Virat Kohli hundred, 989 days to be precise, ended on Thursday when he struck a high-quality 122 not out to take India to 212 for two against Afghanistan and lighten up the dead rubber of the Asia Cup.
He scored his first century since November 2019 and 71st overall with an unbroken effort off 61 balls, tying Ricky Ponting’s record for most international hundreds. On the all-time list, he is now only slightly behind Sachin Tendulkar.
Kohli and stand-in skipper KL Rahul (62 off 41) shared a fun 119 off 76 balls for the first wicket after Rohit Sharma rested for India’s final game of the tournament.
Towards the end of the innings, Kohli began playing with the field and the bowlers, which was sufficient proof that he was back to his best. Rahul’s strike was his most assured since making a comeback from injury.
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The openers excelled against spinners, notably Rashid Khan (0-33), which was a weakness they wanted to work on before the T20 World Cup.
When Kohli moved out to the spinners, pierced the field expertly, and even played a rare sweep shot, it was classic Kohli on display.
The sweep shot played during Mujeeb Ur Rehman’s sixth over of bowling. He came down the track to knock a straight six on the following ball. The former India skipper also lucky on his path to a spectacular hundred as he dropped in the deep off Mohammad Nabi in the eight over.
India appeared to headed for a huge total when it reached 87 for no loss in 10 overs with Kohli in top form.
With a sharp pull shot off bowler Fareed Ahmed, Kohli finally hit the elusive three-figure mark as it began to pour boundaries in the final five overs. He laughed and took off his helmet, kissing his chain as a celebration.
He struck two sixes and a four against Fazalhaq Farooqi to put India over 200 runs for the innings.