Former India skipper Virat Kohli is known for his ruthless attitude on the field, but the flamboyant batter is much softer off it. He played his 100th Test in the longest format when India took on Sri Lanka in the first game of the two-Test series at Mohali. The 33-year-old felt "butterflies" in his stomach as he walked out to bat in the landmark game and perished after scoring 45, extending fans' wait of seeing the batter score elusive 71st hundred.
_(1)_1646639069183_1646639080743.jpg)
Kohli looked set before being bowled by Lasith Embuldeniya on the opening day of the Test, which India went on to win by a comprehensive margin of an innings and 222 runs. Ravindra Jadeja's unbeaten 175 and nine wickets across both innings and Rishabh Pant's entertaining 96 headlined Kohli's milestone Test. Kohli may have not been able to convert his start into a big score on the occasion, but the mercurial player made sure that he gifts a t-shirt to Dharmveer Pal, who is known as the unofficial 12th man of the Indian team.
In a widely-circulated video on Twitter, Kohli can be seen presenting Pal with the gift before boarding the team bus. Pal himself shared the video on his handle and wrote, "Wow it's great day my life @imVkohli he's 100th test match he's gifts me t shirts wow."
{{/usCountry}}In a widely-circulated video on Twitter, Kohli can be seen presenting Pal with the gift before boarding the team bus. Pal himself shared the video on his handle and wrote, "Wow it's great day my life @imVkohli he's 100th test match he's gifts me t shirts wow."
{{/usCountry}}While the Mohali Test marked the beginning of Rohit Sharma's captaincy journey as full-time captain in whites, Kohli began his stint as a specialist batter after 68 Tests in charge. Kohli was also given a guard of honour when India came out to field in the first innings.
Kohli, who began his Test stint back in 2011 in West Indies, credited his fitness levels for achieving the landmark of playing 100 red-ball games for the country. "It's been tough from the point of view that I have played three formats of the game plus IPL every year for the last 10 to 11 years consistently, and that obviously is a big challenge in itself," Kohli told the media.
"I am immensely proud of how I have handled my physique, my fitness levels to come this far. And obviously a lot of discipline, lot of lifestyle changes. Especially playing 100 Test matches, for me personally, has been a kind of a test that I have in my own environment passed."
During the Test, Kohli also surpassed 8,000 Test runs in his 76-ball stay at the crease. He was given a standing ovation by the crowd as he walked back after scoring 45. Before the start of the Test, Kohli was congratulated by the BCCI with head coach Rahul Dravid handing him a commemorative cap and a memento.