On Thursday, Virat Kohli achieved a remarkable feat by smashing his sixth century in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He equalled the record set by his former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate Chris Gayle.
Kohli’s century came in just 62 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), leading RCB to 8-wicket victory at the Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.
Previously trailing Gayle’s record of six centuries by just one ton, Kohli played an exceptional knock which brought him level with the West Indies legend.
Gayle responded to Kohli’s achievement with high praise, expressing his delight at having some company at the highest century makers’ club.
“Welcome young man and welcome to the highest century makers club. I was bored. I was lonely and bored. I was like ‘I need some company at the top’. Now I have got it and we can have a talk now, Virat,” said Gayle during his interview with Jio Cinema on Friday.
Kohli’s century against SRH marked his first IPL century since 2019 and played a crucial role in RCB’s victory, keeping them on track for the IPL 2023 playoffs.
Gayle also commended Kohli’s mindset, noting his aggressive approach right from the first ball of RCB innings. Gayle observed that Kohli seemed determined to make it count and delivered for his team. He also appreciated Kohli’s adaptability, highlighting his usage of the sweep shot against left-arm spinners, which added to the quality of his record knock.
“He was so aggressive from ball one. When he hit that first boundary, he was like ‘it’s my day today and I am going to make it count.’ He delivered for his team. Virat seldom plays a lot of sweep, but to see him play sweeps against left-arm spinners was lovely,” added the Universe Boss.
