India skipper Virat Kohli recorded his maiden Test century on the English soil during the second day’s play of the first Test at the Edgbaston cricket ground in Birmingham on Thursday.
In reply to England’s first innings total of 287, India were tottering at 100 for 5 amidst adverse conditions. However, Virat was determined to bury the demons of his previous England tour as he fought a lone battle to complete his 22nd Test hundred.
The 29-year-old hit Ben Stokes for a boundary to bring up his century that came off 172 balls. After getting a life on a dropped catch at the second slip on 21, Kohli hardly lost his focus all through the innings. His crafty hundred was laced with 14 boundaries.
It is worth mentioning here that Virat hasn’t been able to perform at his best in red-ball cricket on English soil despite boasting an awe-inspiring record all over the world.
During the 2014 England tour, Kohli aggregated only 134 runs at a dismal average of 13.40 in five Test matches. No wonder, this innings has come as a relief to him.
Cricket experts and fans were in awe to see the way Kohli crafted his innings amidst the middle order collapse.
Here are some of the best tweets:
A very important knock by @ImVkohli. Lovely way to set up the Test series. Congrats on your Test hundred. #ENGvIND
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 2, 2018
Great start to the series for @imVkohli 👏 Sensational Batting !! #ENGvIND
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) August 2, 2018
That’s an incredible knock @imVkohli !!! 1 man battle against the moving ball ….. #ENGvIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 2, 2018
A masterclass from Virat Kohli, leading from the front. A display of tremendous character determination and grit #ENGIND
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) August 2, 2018
The genius of @imVkohli lies in making a tremendously difficult knock look ridiculously easy.
What a remarkable fighter, and what a remarkable century! #ENGvIND
— Col Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) August 3, 2018
WHAT A CHAMPION 100 👏👏👏 captain leading from the front.. much needed…absolutely brilliant @imVkohli welldone @ImIshant @y_umesh too 👍 #ENDvIND @BCCI pic.twitter.com/kNuDCbqqOx
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) August 2, 2018
What a player what a knock #Kohli
— Mason Crane (@masoncrane32) August 2, 2018
Take a bow @imVkohli. Brilliant ton when the team needed it the most. All the 2014 talk has been laid to rest by this special batsman. 👏 pic.twitter.com/Tpr1Vi9Fsb
— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) August 2, 2018
This man proves himself again and again with such crucial knocks. A hundred and that too playing with the tail which is not an easy task at all. Required a lot of patience and determination. What a player! @imVkohli #ENDvIND
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) August 2, 2018
This knock of @imVkohli reminds me of @Schwarzenegger’s role in the movie called “THE LAST STAND”. 👏🏼 👍🏼#ENGvIND
— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) August 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/shani_official/status/1025054836830679040
Just stood up in our studio and applauded. One of Kohli's best. Full of grit and patience. Proper test match batting. #Class.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 2, 2018
So adorable that there were people that thought Kohli wouldn't absolutely boss it in England in this series. #GUN
— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) August 2, 2018
Congratulations to @imVkohli for a fantastic 💯,great knock! A captain leading from the front, a delight to watch. #ENGVIND
— Azhar Mahmood (@AzharMahmood11) August 2, 2018
First Century. First of Many. Well played, Virat Kohli. Best batsman on the planet. #EngvInd
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) August 2, 2018
King K! #ENGvIND
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) August 2, 2018
Under the circumstances, one of @imVkohli’s greatest centuries. What a player, what a fighter. #ENGvIND
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) August 2, 2018
@imVkohli is just #differentgravy now all people can 🤫 about him getting runs in England #runmachine
— Alex Tudor (@alextudorcoach) August 2, 2018
One of his most important hundreds. An absolutely brilliant innings from @imVkohli . Has single handedly kept India in the game. What a player ! #ENDvIND
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) August 2, 2018
Virat Kohli really is a great player. But I still fancy England for the test series. #ENGvIND
— Oliver Phelps (@OliverPhelps) August 2, 2018
Thoroughly enjoyed watching that battle. Test cricket at it's best. Triumph over adversity and a joy to watch Virat Kohli craft, construct and conquer his surroundings on to his 22nd test century.
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) August 2, 2018
Such is the ridiculous genius of Virat Kohli that I'm not even sure this is one of his top five centuries.
— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) August 2, 2018
For one of the best stroke players in the world, this Virat 100 was about ‘not’ playing strokes.
Left 40 balls alone. 26 against Anderson. That’s more than 4 overs of Anderson left alone!
👏👏👏🙏🙏🙏— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) August 2, 2018
Brilliant knock from Kohli. Well played. #ENGvIND
— James Taylor (@jamestaylor20) August 2, 2018
A lot of heat on Kohli and produces a 100 in his first innings. #class 🏏
— Usman Khawaja (@Uz_Khawaja) August 2, 2018
Virat Kohli. A superstar and genuine box office. Backs it all up with brilliance.
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) August 2, 2018
— Tino95 (@tinobest) August 2, 2018
Outstanding 💯 from Kohli
— David 'Bumble' Lloyd (@BumbleCricket) August 2, 2018
I wonder where @imVkohli will be ranked amongst the Pantheon of great Indian Test match batsmen 🏏🔥 Truly phenomenal relentless drive, skill and passion whilst representing India 🇮🇳 #pureclass
— Robin John Peterson (@robbie13flair) August 2, 2018
Virat Kohli is a great batsman and
true leader. Single handedly he took India near England's score.— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) August 2, 2018
Reckon he might be alright at cricket that Kohli lad.
— Elizabeth Ammon (@legsidelizzy) August 2, 2018
Forget record books, think Virat should have one for himself. This is some statement from the Indian Skipper. #ENGvIND
— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) August 2, 2018
India’s future is safe. Virat Kohli is already in the 22nd century.
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) August 2, 2018
Virat Kohli has clearly demonstrated his quality and maturity as batsman/captain! Watching some of the shots he played during the innings and the manner he dominated the English bowling confirms he is class above the rest of the batsmen in world cricket today!
— Roshan Abeysinghe (@RoshanCricket) August 3, 2018
King Kohli departs for 149 after a masterclass. Edgbaston stands up to applaud him. Few hours after booing him. This is sport. Never write off champions.
— Sohini M. (@Mittermaniac) August 2, 2018
