India's star batter Virat Kohli reached his 29th Test century on Friday during the final Test against West Indies. Kohli ended an almost five-year wait for an overseas Test ton, with his last century on foreign soil coming in December 2018 in Perth. This was Kohli's 76th international century overall, as he inched closer to Sachin Tendulkar's incredible 100-ton record. And as he reached his ton, the 34-year-old star batter received praise from the Master Blaster himself.
Tendulkar took to his official Instagram profile to reserve high praise for his former teammate, who, on many occasions, has called Tendulkar his idol. Posting a story, the former batting great wrote, “Another day, another century by @virat.kohli. Well played!”
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Kohli's innings was key to India's rebuild in the first innings after the side lost quick wickets following the batter's arrival at the crease. Rohit Sharma (80) and Ajinkya Rahane (10) were dismissed within four overs of each other after Kohli came to bat, as the latter was confined to adopting a defensive approach. Slowly but surely, the 34-year-old found his groove as he forged a 106-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja by the end of the first day, remaining unbeaten on 87.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli's innings was key to India's rebuild in the first innings after the side lost quick wickets following the batter's arrival at the crease. Rohit Sharma (80) and Ajinkya Rahane (10) were dismissed within four overs of each other after Kohli came to bat, as the latter was confined to adopting a defensive approach. Slowly but surely, the 34-year-old found his groove as he forged a 106-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja by the end of the first day, remaining unbeaten on 87.
{{/usCountry}}The next morning, the duo added 53 more runs in their partnership during which Kohli smashed his 29th ton. The end of his innings, however, was anti-climactic as he was run out on 121; only the third time in his Test career.
This was Kohli's second Test century of the year after he smashed a brilliant 186 against Australia in Ahmedabad in March. Since September 2022, Kohli has hit six centuries across all formats; he had none in three years prior. The batter had ended his century drought during a T20I against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, which eventually marked his return to form after a significantly long rough patch.
Interestingly, Kohli also had an opportunity to add another century in the ongoing series during the first Test, where he was dismissed on 76 in the side's only innings. India registered an innings-and 141-run victory in the Test, and will be aiming to secure a clean-sweep win over the hosts in Port of Spain.