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Cricket PlayersVirat Kohli staring at sensational Dravid record in Australia T20Is; ex-India captain looks to get closer to Tendulkar
Kohli ended his much-talked-about dry run with the bat, as he notched up two successive half-centuries and then an unbeaten 122 off 61 balls, finishing among run-scorers of the recent Asia Cup with 276 runs in five games.
Even Virat Kohli was "pleasantly surprised" to get his long-awaited century in the T20 format as he finally ticked off his 71st international ton after a gap of 1,020 days. It was his first ever in a T20I as he helped India end the Asia Cup 2022 with a crushing win over Afghanistan earlier this month. The star batter had taken a month-long break from tours of the West Indies and Zimbabwe to come back fresh for the tournament. He went on to end his much-talked-about dry run with the bat, as he notched up two successive half-centuries and then an unbeaten 122 off 61 balls, finishing among run-scorers of the tournament with 276 runs in five matches.
Kohli hit two half-centuries against Hong Kong and then Pakistan, albeit in a losing cause, but his ton versus Afghanistan silenced critics who questioned his place in the shortest format. The 33-year-old hit 12 fours and six sixes as he smashed the Afghan bowlers to all parts of the ground. The knock was a testament to his batting prowess and his 71st three-figure score put him alongside great Ricky Ponting on the list of most centuries. Sachin Tendulkar is still way ahead with 100 international tons to his name.
As India gear up for the T20I home series against Australia, Kohli has a chance to add another feather to his already illustrious hat. The former India skipper can surpass Rahul Dravid and become the second-highest run-getter for India in international cricket history. He is 207 runs away from the milestone.
Kohli currently has got 8074 runs in 102 Tests, 12,344 runs in 262 ODIs and 3584 runs in 104 T20Is. Overall, he has gathered 24,002 runs in 468 games for India at an average of 53.81. Tendulkar heads the panel, having scored 34,357 runs in 664 matches at an average of 48.52, while Dravid is second on the list with 24,208 runs across 605 innings at an average of 45.41.
Before the first T20I, Kohli also received word of praise from opposition captain Aaron Finch, who underlined the Indian player's achievements in world cricket. Finch said that it is really brave to write off Kohli at any stage.
"You would be a very very brave man to write off Virat at any stage. He has shown for 15 years now, that he is one of the greatest players of all time. Particularly in T20 cricket, he is someone who has developed his game and grown his game over for such a long period. You are always trying to prepare to the best of your ability when you are coming up against Virat," said Finch during a press conference ahead of the match.
"He is super, 71 international hundreds, that is just ridiculous," he added.
India begin their home assignment against Australia on September 20 with the series opener in Mohali. The next T20I match will take place in Nagpur on September 23, followed by the third and final match in Hyderabad on September 25.
