Virat Kohli ended an over three years long drought of Test centuries in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Ahmedabad, and the batting legend later admitted that “shortcomings” resulted in growing “complications” and that was “eating me up”.
‘King’ Kohli came up with a knock of 186, his 28th Test century that took three year and three months to come, and it led India’s solid reply to Australia’s 480 with a total of 571, which also included a century by Shubman Gill.
However, the Test ended in a draw on the fifth day, giving India a 2-1 series victory.
In a conversation with head coach Rahul Dravid, the 34-year old Kohli revealed that the weight of expectations became a bit tough to handle for him.
“Honestly, I’ve let the complications grow on me a bit because of my shortcomings,” Kohli told Dravid in the chat, the video of which was posted by the BCCI on its website.
“The desperation to get to the three-figure mark is something that can grow on you as a batsman. I let that happen to me to a certain extent. But a flip side to it is, I’m not a guy who is happy with 40-45. I take a lot of pride in performing for the team.
“It’s not like when Virat Kohli should stand out. When I’m batting on 40, I know I can get a 150. That was eating me up a lot.
“Why am I not able to get that big score for the team? Because I took pride in the fact that when the team needed me, I stood up, scoring in difficult conditions. The fact that I wasn’t able to do that, was bothering me,” he added.
Asked by Dravid how tough it was, Kohli said, “If I’ve to be brutally honest, it does become a little difficult as the moment you step out of the hotel room, right from the guy outside, to the guy in the lift, the bus driver everyone is saying ‘we want a hundred’.
“So, it does play on your mind all the time but that’s also the beauty of playing for so long to have these complications come up and overcome these challenges,” Kohli said.
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King Kohli’s top-10 Test knocks
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<p>In the 2nd Test in Pune, Kohli was all over the Proteas. In the first innings, Kohli smashed 254* runs off 336 balls with 33 boundaries and a couple of sixes. The innings of 254* is still his highest score in Test matches. India went on to win the match by an innings and 137 runs and clinched the series 2-0.<br /></p>
<p>Kohli was at his imperial best in the year 2016. Kohli was shattering records and making new ones. One of his achievements came against the visiting England side. In the 4th Test in Mumbai, Kohli smashed 235 runs off 340 balls with 25 boundaries and a six. He thrashed every English bowler out of the boundaries. India went on to score 631 all out but it was enough for India to knock over England as India won by an innings and 36 runs. This knock would be remembered for his aggressive approach on a turning track at Wankhede Stadium.<br /></p>
<p>This was Kohli’s first double hundred in Test cricket against the West Indies. In the 1st Test at Antigua, Kohli took on the likes of Gabriel, Roach, and Brathwaite and attacked them. Kohli went on to score 200 runs off 283 balls with 24 boundaries. India went to score 566-8 declared thanks to Kohli’s double ton and Ashwin’s heroic innings of 113. West Indies had no answers to Indian bowling and lost the game by an innings and 92 runs. The innings of 200 highlighted the class of “King Kohli”.<br /></p>
<p>King Kohli was all-over the NZ bowlers in the 3rd Test in Indore. After the top-order faltered, Kohli went on to change gears and scored a brilliant double hundred against Kiwis. Kohli went on to score 211 runs off 366 balls with 20 boundaries. India won the Test match by a massive margin of 321 runs and claimed the series 3-0.<br /></p>
<p>This innings would be highly rated in his fantastic career. It was not just a century but an emotion that he wanted to flow on. In 2018, India under the leadership of Virat Kohli traveled to England. In the 1st Test at Edgbaston, India’s top-order was rattled by young Sam Curran. Kohli entered the arena batting at no.4. Kohli took time to settle against his nemesis James Anderson. He kept rotating strike and went on getting his fifty. Once he accomplished his fifty, he attacked the English bowlers and scored his first hundred on English Soil with a roar of emotion. Kohli went on to score 149 runs off 225 balls with 22 boundaries and a six. Though India lost the Test by 31 runs, it showed the new intent of Indian cricket on difficult turfs.<br /></p>
<p>Kohli had already scored a hundred in the first innings as captain. India needed 364 to chase in the second innings. Kohli decided that he would go for the target despite the strong bowling of Australia. Kohli brought down the equation to 60 runs and he went on to score a hundred. Kohli was dismissed by Lyon’ which saw the collapse and India went on to lose the game by 48 runs. Kohli scored 141 runs off 175 balls with 16 boundaries and a six.<br /></p>
<p>With the series at stake, Kohli proved to be a lone warrior in the 2nd Test against the Proteas. After the top-order collapsed, Kohli went on to attack the likes of Morkel, Philander and Ngidi in the tough conditions of Centurion. Kohli scored 153 runs off 217 balls with 15 boundaries. Kohli’s running between the wickets was the highlight of the game. India went on to lose the game by 135 runs. But with the same intent, India went on to win the final Test match in Johannesburg.<br /></p>
<p>In the 3rd Test, Kohli yet again showed his aggressive approach on the bouncy track of MCG. Kohli along with Ajinkya Rahane who also notched a hundred built a solid partnership to bring India back on track. But it was Kohli who ripped apart the Australian bowling line-up. Kohli scored 169 runs off 272 balls with 18 boundaries. India went on to draw the Test match. This match also marked the end of MS Dhoni’s Test career as a player and skipper.<br /></p>
<p>On the tough track of Perth which is known for its pace and bounce, India went on to play the 2nd Test against the Aussies with a 1-0 lead. After Australia scored 326 in the first innings, the Indian top-order yet again collapsed with the likes of Starc and Hazlewood breathing fire. Kohli entered the newly built Perth Stadium and challenged the Australian bowling with his classy cover-drives and flicks, Kohli went on to score a hundred on a tricky Perth track. Kohli scored 123 runs off 257 balls with 13 boundaries and a six. Despite a lot of efforts, India lost the game by 146 runs but went on to win the series for the first time in history under the leadership of Kohli.<br /></p>
<p>On the green pitch of Eden Gardens where it was tough to bat on, In the 2nd innings of the 1st Test against Sri Lanka, Kohli showed how to bat on those turfs. Kohli almost played an ODI knock in Test cricket by smashing boundaries and sixes. Kohli scored 104* runs off 119 balls with 12 boundaries and a couple of sixes. The game ended in a draw but later on, India went on to win the other two Test matches.<br /></p>
Kohli dished out an uncharacteristic 364-ball innings, spanning more than eight hours and 30 minutes. It was his 75th international century across formats.
Dravid said he was also desperate to see former skipper score that big hundred but it was worth in the end since Kohli delivered a master class.
“I’ve seen him as a player, seen a lot of hundreds of him on TV and after I took over the coach about 15-16 months ago, was a bit desperate to see him score a Test hundred and really enjoy it from the comfort of the dressing room
“To be able to enjoy and relax a Test hundred. It was a beauty. You made me wait a long time but it was an absolute privilege to watch an innings and the way you constructed it,” said Dravid.
Before this match, Kohli’s last Test century had come in India’s maiden Day/Night Test against Bangladesh in November 2019.
Kohli insisted that he never “about the milestones”.
“A lot of people ask me, ‘how do you keep scoring those hundreds’. And I always say a hundred is something that happens along the way within my goal, which is to bat as long as possible for my team.”
Kohli credited his fitness to be able to bat in different ways which help him excel in all formats.
“I can bat four sessions, I can bat five sessions, that’s where the fitness and physical preparation comes into play for me.
“I go into the field relaxed because I know I can bat in many ways. I am not desperate if I play three sessions and feel like I am breaking down and I need to get fast runs otherwise I won’t be able to stay out there for long,” he said.
“…..I am pretty happy scoring 30 runs in a session and not hitting a boundary and absolutely not be desperate because I know that boundaries will come and even if I have to play like this I can bat six sessions and get a 150. I have no issue doing that.”
(With agency inputs)
