Although he faced plenty of criticism and intense questioning due to poor form and a lack of runs heading into the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Virat Kohli showed up when it mattered by scoring a century in Perth and helping India set a 1-0 lead with a dominant 295-run victory.
Kohli’s century was a little scrappy and needed Kohli to survive some threatening situations, but the Indian great continued his positive relationship in Australia as he notched his landmark 30th Test century, and an impressive seventh in Australia.
With Kohli performing despite denigrators and critics hounding his poor run in Test cricket in the recent past, former Indian batter Ajay Jadeja was one of the figures to loudly back the Indian great, showing his support with a comment that commended the former Indian captain and shut down his haters.
“Doubters can rest in peace... The name itself says it all. If there were doubters, they can rest in peace. Geniuses aren't born overnight,” said Jadeja to ANI, emphatic in his support of Kohli.
Jadeja, who represented India over 200 times in his career across formats and has been a vocal supporter of Kohli throughout his career, was clear in what he saw as a return to form for one of India’s greatest ever batters.
Kohli looks to continue success in the BGT
{{/usCountry}}Jadeja, who represented India over 200 times in his career across formats and has been a vocal supporter of Kohli throughout his career, was clear in what he saw as a return to form for one of India’s greatest ever batters.
Kohli looks to continue success in the BGT
{{/usCountry}}Kohli’s century helped India heap on the runs in the third session, after a terrific bowling performance provided the platform for India to gun for a win in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Kohli’s runs were a boost after a terrific innings from Yashasvi Jaiswal, with the young southpaw scoring his fourth Test century and his first in Australia.
Moreover, Kohli’s success in fairly testing conditions in Perth will bode well for the Indian team, who have desperately been looking for significant runs from their talismanic number four batter, especially after his struggles against New Zealand in the shock 3-0 home loss earlier this month.
Kohli’s form and runs in Australia will be a positive sign heading into the rest of the series, with the next task at hand being to find success in the day-night Test match. The game will be played at the Adelaide Oval, a venue which has been a very happy hunting ground for Kohli in the past.