After a wait of 1120 days, Virat Kohli has finally reached the dream figure. The century drought for the former Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, ended with a spectacular innings on Friday. India locked horns with Afghanistan at the Dubai International Stadium in the fifth game of the “Super Four” stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.
After winning the toss, Afghanistan elected to bowl first. For India, skipper Rohit Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal and Hardik Pandya were rested. Thus, KL Rahul did the captaincy job. In the absence of Rohit, India saw a new opening pair of Virat and Rahul.
Both batters took the aggressive approach from the very first ball and added 119 runs for the first wicket. Rahul got out after scoring 62 off 41, with six boundaries and two sixes. Suryakumar Yadav followed him soon after getting out to his second ball.
It brought Rishabh Pant to the crease. Then Virat added an unbeaten partnership for the third wicket of 87 runs off just 42 balls to push India over the 200-run mark. India made 212/2 in their 20 overs. Virat made his 71st international century and maiden T20I century. He brought in his century off 53 balls. He remained unbeaten on 122* off 61 balls with 12 fours and six maximums to break the jinx of the 71st century.
In reply, Afghanistan could only score 111/8 in 20 overs and India won by 101 runs. Virat Kohli won the “Man of the Match” for his century. For India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled an amazing spell of 5/4.
Virat Kohli broke a number of records after his century in Asia Cup 2022
Interestingly, Virat made his 70th century against Bangladesh in November 2019 and it took him almost three years to reach his next century. With his 53-ball hundred on Friday, he has broken a number of records, so let’s check them out.
71 – It was the 71st international century for Virat Kohli and he has now equaled the record of the former Australian captain, Ricky Ponting. Virat is just behind Sachin Tendulkar (100) now in terms of international centuries.
522 – It was the 522nd international innings for Virat, and he is now the fastest batter to reach the 71st century in cricket. He has gone past the record of Sachin Tendulkar, who took 523 innings to complete 71 centuries.
24000 – Virat has also completed 24000 international runs in his career and got in his 522nd innings, which means he is now the fastest batter to complete this feat. Sachin is in second place. He did it in his 543rd innings.
6 – It was the sixth century (5 in the IPL and 1 international) for Virat in the T20 format and he has equaled Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.
4 – Virat Kohli becomes the fourth Indian batter to score a century in all three formats, after Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Suresh Raina.
122 – Virat’s knock of 122* runs is the highest score by an Indian batter in T20 internationals. He went past Rohit’s 118 against Sri Lanka.
3500 – Virat has also completed the T20I run and has become only the second player to do so after Rohit. He took only 96 innings and was the fastest batter.
1042 – The former Indian captain has now scored 1042 runs in the history of the Asia Cup, which is the most by an Indian batter. He is only behind Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene.
When did Virat Kohli score his 70th international century?
Virat Kohli scored his 70th international century against Bangladesh in a day-night test match at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata in November 2019.