Virat Kohli on Sunday ended his century draught in Test cricket, bringing up the 28th ton in the format after a long gap of 1205 days. The former skipper was the second Indian batter to score a century in the fourth Test against Australia. After Shubman Gill’s scintillating 128, Kohli top-scored with 186 and his 364-ball innings, laced with 15 boundaries, helped India take a 90-run lead in the first innings.
This was his 28th Test ton and 75th in international cricket, becoming the only second batter in the history of the game to reach the mark after the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli is often touted to match Tendulkar’s colossal record of hundred centuries in international cricket. Though the former still needs 25 hundreds to reach that feat, several experts believe that it won’t be a problem for Kohli to get there as he has fitness by his side.
Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that not just 100 centuries but Kohli can even go beyond that. Speaking with Sports Tak on Sunday, the former Harbhajan said Kohli might be 34 years old but he possesses the fitness of a ‘24-year-old cricketer.’
“It’s certainly possible. I think he can score more than that (100 centuries). Two things favour Virat here; his age, and his fitness. He’s 34 but his fitness is that of a 24-year-old cricketer. He’s way ahead in that aspect. He has already scored 75 centuries, he can score at least 50 more. He knows his game and he plays all formats,” Harbhajan told Sports Tak.
“You might think I’m going overboard with this, but it is certainly possible. If anyone can do it, it’s Virat Kohli. Rest all are far behind him. He knew he had to work on his fitness, because his batting abilities are god-gifted. I don’t think he will stop from here. There are no technical faults, and even if they are, he works on them and rectifies them. Since his return (after break), he has already scored five centuries. This is pretty much a comeback for him,” Harbhajan added.
Kohli scored 27 of his Test centuries in 141 innings, including the one which came in November 2019 during the day-night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
But for the 28th Test century and 75th of his international cricket career, it has taken 42 innings and more than three years to arrive. Kohli got his hundred in 241 balls at Ahmedabad, his second slowest century after his ton against England in the 2012/13 series coming off 289 balls.
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