Virat Kohli Ended His Drought To Register A Historic 100

Virat Kohli after his 71st International 100 [X]Virat Kohli after his 71st International 100 [X]

Virat Kohli is unarguably the most prolific run scorer of World Cricket in the modern era. When cricket fans think of Sachin Tendulkar's 100 international centuries, the only name they believe can get close or break it is Virat Kohli. He has been superbly consistent throughout his whole career. 

But this Titan also faced a low phase in his career. Known for his rate of scoring centuries, Kohli went 1,021 days without scoring a hundred in international cricket. Critics reckoned that the time had come for him to hang up his boots and bid goodbye to the game. 

But Kohli showed his character, scored the long-pending hundred, and peaked with the bat once more. Virat ended his drought against Afghanistan on this day in 2022. 

India vs Afghanistan, Asia Cup 2022

It was an Asia Cup game, and India were up against Afghanistan. Although India was eliminated, the fans had an eye on this game, expecting Kohli to end his drought of almost three years. This time, the legend met the expectations of his fans.

India batted first in the game. It was KL Rahul who opened the innings with Virat Kohli. The duo stitched an opening partnership of 119 runs and set the stage for a formidable total. Even though Rahul was dismissed, Kohli continued his excellent work and scored a sublime 122 off 61 deliveries. 

In reply, Afghanistan managed only 111/8 in their 20 overs. Ibrahim Zadran was the top scorer for Afghanistan with 64 off 59 deliveries. India won the match by a massive margin of 101 runs. But this was not about the win or the margin; it was about celebrating the return of the King. 

Virat Kohli's 70th International 100

Notably, before this, Virat Kohli scored an International century against Bangladesh during the Pink Ball Test on 23rd November 2019. In between this, he played some good knocks but always looked scratchy, and it looked like something was missing from his batting. However, the smile after his 71st showed how relieved the man was. 

Virat Kohli, currently has 80 international Hundreds. 50 of these hundreds are in ODIs, while 29 in Tests and 1 in the T20Is. Mentionably, he has the highest number of tons in ODI cricket, a record he made his own, surpassing the greatest ever - Sachin Tendulkar.