India skipper Virat Kohli slammed his first century in England, ending an agonising wait for success in the country after a disheartening run in the previous Test tour of 2014. (IND v ENG DAY 2 LIVE)
The 29-year-old batsman came through trial by fire against ageing England fast bowler James Anderson on the second day of the Edgbaston Test. Anderson had removed him four times on the previous tour when he managed to score just 134 runs in 10 innings for a measly average of 13.4.
Kohli withstood Anderson’s testing spells and kept his focus after being dropped on 21 and 50 (off Anderson and Ben Stokes) as he went past his previous best score in England of 39.
The Indian skipper held firm as wickets fell at the other end, finally slapping a Ben Stokes delivery past backward point for his 14th boundary to reach his century in the company of last man Umesh Yadav in the final session of play on Day 2.
The Indian skipper’s 21st century came off 122 balls, the second fifty taking just 22 deliveries. His knock was remarkable after India had collapsed to 169 for seven, falling to the bowling of left-arm pacer Sam Curran, all-rounder Ben Stokes and Anderson.
{{/usCountry}}The Indian skipper’s 21st century came off 122 balls, the second fifty taking just 22 deliveries. His knock was remarkable after India had collapsed to 169 for seven, falling to the bowling of left-arm pacer Sam Curran, all-rounder Ben Stokes and Anderson.
{{/usCountry}}India were 227 for nine in the final hour of play.
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Kohli patiently negotiated swing and seam movement to reach fifty off 100 deliveries with nine fours before opening up with fine placements and fluent shots as the England bowlers began to tire after tea on the second day.
He added 41 runs with Ajinkya Rahane for the fourth wickets and 48 with Hardik Pandya for the sixth before batting with the tail-enders to reach his milestone. There was anxiety after India were reduced to 217/9, but Kohli capped his brilliant knock.
He gave a huge yell in celebration before kissing his wedding ring hung around his neck as the Edgbaston crowd gave him a standing ovation.
England were 287 all out in the morning with R Ashwin (4/62) and Mohammed Shami (3/64) the main wicket-takers.