'Now he won't stop' - Akhtar speaks as Kohli's century drought ends

Virat Kohli (PC: Twitter)

The long-awaited 71st international ton of Virat Kohli finally emanated from his bat yesterday as India engaged in a face-off versus Afghanistan.

It was during the dead-rubber that Kohli broke his 1020-day streak without an international century, and sent the cricketing world into a frenzy with fans and pundits alike singing encomiums for him.

Tearing apart the likes Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Fazalhaq Farooqi, the star India batter also achieved his maiden T20I hundred in the process.

'Kohli was scoring at will' - Akhtar

It seems the Kohli of old is back, and the legendary Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar did not shy away from praising the former. Akhtar opined that the 33-year-old gradually came into his own during the Asia Cup 2022 and it will be tough for the opponents to stop him now.

"The first 50 runs Kohli made yesterday, that wasn't the real Virat Kohli. I was seeing his real self in patches during this Asia Cup. But I saw the real Virat Kohli when he scored the last 50 of his innings. When he scored his hundred, it felt like Kohli was scoring at will and he was getting his form back," Akhtar said as quoted on his official YouTube channel.

"Why the 29 centuries matter to me is because I feel he is the greatest batter of all time. Those 29 centuries that are left for him will be difficult. It took him some time to get to his 71st one. But now he won't stop," he added.

The monkey is off Kohli's back

With the all-important T20I World Cup just around the corner, Kohli's 71st international century could not have come at a better time for India.

He will likely be next seen in action against Australia in the three-match T20I series, starting from September 20.

Read more: Rohit Sharma hopeful of toss independent results in T20 WC 2022