Virat Kohli’s 100th Test: Remembering his five epic knocks in Tests

Virat Kohli is perhaps the greatest cricketer India witnessed in the modern age. The superstar has grown from a young fiery bloke from Delhi to one of the most dependable players for the Blues.

Time passes by when you experience a phenomenon in motion and ‘King Kohli’ is knocking at the door to his 100th Test as India locks horns against Sri Lanka at Mohali in a two-match series, starting this Friday. 

The former Indian skipper has played some great knocks over the years, despite his last ton coming more than two years ago. Kohli reached legendary status with some memorable tons which made a huge impact in the games. 

Let’s take a look at five epic Test knocks which defined ‘King Kohli’:-

116 against Australia (Adelaide 2012) 

While India’s tour of Australia in 2012 was a complete disaster as the hosts thrashed the visiting nation, it saw the rise of one Virat Kohli who would go on to become one of the biggest superstars in the history of the game. The Indian batting order had struggled to get a positive foot forward against Australia, as big names such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, and Gautam Gambhir failed to fare against the Australian bowling unit.

Young Kohli stepped up to the occasion in only his 4th Test and became the first Indian to score a century in the series, registering 116 runs off 213 deliveries, coming in at number 6. This is perhaps one of the most special centuries on the list as this was Kohli’s maiden ton in the red-ball format, that too on a foreign soil. The series remained forgetful for India as the hosts whitewashed with a 4-nil scoreline. 

124 against Australia (Perth 2018)

India’s tour of Australia in 2018 is one of the most remarkable feathers in the cap for Captain Kohli. Not only did the then-skipper manage to win India its first series ‘Down Under’ but the Indian side also were all over the hosts and dominated them on the field throughout the series. Australia put 326 runs on the board in the first innings at Perth, the Aussie pushed India onto the back foot as they sent the openers in Murali Vijay and KL Rahul packing early.

But it was VK18’s moment to shine as he scored 124 runs on a challenging Optus Stadium surface, coming in with the score reading at 8/2. If you haven’t seen the Amazon special ‘The Test’, ex-Aussie head coach Justin Langer describes how he felt when Kohli started the innings with an on-drive and that is just one of the incidences that describe how great of a cricket King Kohli is!

105* against New Zealand (Wellington 2014)

Virat has bailed India out on numerous occasions but one of the best red-ball knocks of his career came against the Blackcaps during the 2014 India tour of New Zealand. Former Kiwi skipper, Brendon McCullum scored a historic triple hundred that saw the Blackcaps post a target of 435 runs in the 2nd Test against India. India lost two early wickets in the chase and were down to 10/2.

However, it was the ‘Chase-Master’ who came to India’s rescue as Kohli scored a priceless knock of 105 runs against the likes of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Neil Wagner to help India salvage a draw against the hosts. While this is the lowest ton in terms of scores on our list, this was the first time Virat scored a century in the second innings of a test match.

149 against England (Birmingham 2018)

While critics were busy talking about Kohli’s disastrous 2014 tour of England where the former Indian skipper could only score 174 runs in the five-Test matches, with a paltry average of 13.50 in his ten innings. Kohli proved his worth yet again with a ton to remember in the opening Test match of India’s tour of England in 2018.

The ‘ton-machine’ registered a magnificent knock of 149 runs at Edgbaston in the 2nd innings of the 1st Test. He took the English quicks to the cleaners and ensured he did not give his wicket to James Anderson, his kryptonite in the previous tour. The crowd roared as Kohli reached his milestone and were met with an equally exhilarating celebration from the modern master. Kohli did not look back during the entire series and scored a total of 593 runs in the series to put an end to critics.

54 & 41 against South Africa (Johannesburg 2018) 

The two outings at Wanderers in the whites, back in 2018, redefined Kohli’s career. While Kohli has notched up tons at will his 54 & 41 run-knocks against South Africa saw him help India win the 3rd test in their tour of South Africa in challenging conditions. Faring against the likes of Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, and Lungi Ngidi, the batting genius never put a wrong foot forward and was all over the bowlers in the contest.

While India’s number four was not able to score a century in the contest, the innings in no way were less than remarkable as Kohli put on his composure and consistency at full display against a high profile Proteas bowling unit.

The multiple-time Test mace winning captain might not have registered the three-figure mark since November 23, 2019, he hasn’t struggled to find the middle of the bat. Also, the classy batsman hasn’t either failed to toil the bowlers apart, even in his dull phase. 

Talking about his ‘dull’ phase, if a Martian comes and watches the King bat, the visitor won’t have a wrinkle in calling the King the best batter. The Martian would also stand and applaud when the cherry races away to the sweeper-cover after kissing the King’s willow.