Watch: Brian Lara ignores phone call to greet and chat with Virat Kohli ahead of India star's landmark 500th match
Ahead of his 500th match for India, Virat Kohli was greeted by Brian Lara as he made his way back to the change room. The duo chatted briefly.
Virat Kohli is set to tick another momentous milestone off his list as he gets ready to play his 500th match for India against West Indies starting Thursday. Kohli, who made his Test debut 12 years ago against the same opponents in 2011, will become only the fourth Indian cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni to this landmark when the second Test gets underway at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad, and in order to turn this achievement into a much sweeter occasion, the former India captain has hit the ground running. Dismissed for 76 in the first Test at Dominica, Kohli could reattain his Test average of 50 if he is able to knock off at least 345 runs across both innings.
However, irrespective of whether Kohli is able to achieve it or register his 30th Test century, the star India batter's day was made when he was greeted by the Brian Lara two days ahead of the game. Every time a modern-day great crosses paths with a star of the yesteryear, it makes for some wonderful viewing. And Tuesday wasn't any different. Kohli was greeted by 'The Prince of Trinidad' as he made his way back towards the change room. The duo chatted briefly before continuing with their respective chores.
Watch the video below:
In fact, Lara's gesture was so heartwarming that the internet took note of it immediately. The West Indies legend was on his phone talking to someone, but the moment he saw Kohli approaching him, Lara reached his arm out to Virat and shook hands with him. The two then embraced each other before engaging in a small chat even as Lara held his phone over his left ear. After a couple of 'thumbs up' gestures, Kohli headed upstairs while Lara got back to his device.
Three Brian Lara achievements Virat Kohli has surpassed
The tour of West Indies is special for Kohli, and if meeting the legendary Garfield Sobers last week wasn't precious enough, interacting with Lara was like an icing on the cake for India's most successful Test captain of all time. In fact, it was only fitting that Lara met Kohli ahead of his 500th international as Virat has knocked over some of the West Indian great's batting milestones.
Earlier this year, Kohli surpassed Lara to become the second-highest run-scorer against Australia in Tests and last year even eclipsed him to become the leading non-Australian run-scorer at The Adelaide Oval. Furthermore, in 2019, Kohli had left behind both Lara and Sachin Tendulkar to become the fastest batter to score 20,000 runs in international cricket.
