Virat Kohli smashed his 29th Test century during the second and final match of the series against West Indies on Friday. The India batter reached the three-figure mark in 180 deliveries, smashing a cover drive for his 100th run in the innings. This was Kohli's second Test century of the year and his first overseas ton since nearly five years, with his last coming in Perth in 2018. Interestingly, the century came in his 500th international match, making the occasion all the more special for the India batter
As soon as Kohli hit the four for his century, he acknowledged the crowd at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain before taking a bow towards his teammates and the support staff in the Indian dressing room.
Also read: Virat Kohli equals Don Bradman with sensational ton vs WI in landmark 500th international match; overtakes Tendulkar
A user on Twitter recorded the entire moment and posted it. Watch:
Similar to the first Test, Kohli made a slow start to his innings in the second; the batter was confined to being defensive partly because of the quick wickets immediately after his arrival at the crease. India were reduced to 182/4 with Rohit Sharma (80) and Ajinkya Rahane (10) departing in quick succession, as Kohli led a rebuild alongside Ravindra Jadeja.
{{/usCountry}}Similar to the first Test, Kohli made a slow start to his innings in the second; the batter was confined to being defensive partly because of the quick wickets immediately after his arrival at the crease. India were reduced to 182/4 with Rohit Sharma (80) and Ajinkya Rahane (10) departing in quick succession, as Kohli led a rebuild alongside Ravindra Jadeja.
{{/usCountry}}The two remained unbeaten by the end of Day 1 with Kohli on 87, and the India star looked at ease when the play resumed on Friday. He smashed his first four of the day in the fourth over against Kemar Roach, and brought his century with a boundary as well – a cover drive against Shannon Gabriel. In the same over, Ravindra Jadeja also struck his 19th half-century in the longest format; he did that with a boundary as well.
This was Kohli's 76th international century as well, as he inches closer to Sachin Tendulkar's incredible 100-century record. The batter was stuck at 71 centuries for a long period between 2019-2022, but the drought ended in September last year when he reached his three-figure mark during a T20I against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup.
Team India are aiming for a 2-0 clean sweep win over West Indies. The side had registered an innings-and-141-run win in the first Test in Dominica, where Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal struck centuries.