Virat Kohli News: Batsman Scales Historic Milestone in 100th Test Against Sri Lanka in Mohali

Virat Kohli already had created history even before a ball was bowled on day 1 of the Mohali Test against Sri Lanka. The former India captain joined an elite group of players to have played 100 Tests or more for his country. When he was felicitated before the start of the match, Virat Kohli spoke about how he feels proud to have played 100 Tests, which he said was the ‘purest form of the game’. With his wife Anushka Sharma and brother in attendance, Virat Kohli wanted to make it special. And special he did make.

When he took a single off Vishwa Fernando by steering a short ball to point, Virat Kohli had reached 8000 runs in Test cricket. He joined Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag and Sunil Gavaskar to have gone past 8000 runs in Tests. Virat Kohli achieved that in his 100th Test and with fans finally allowed to come to the stadium, the occasion was much sweeter.

Virat Kohli in an Elite List

The former India skipper became only the second player after Ricky Ponting to score 8000 runs in his 100th Test. Ponting had achieved the feat when he blasted two centuries in the same Test against South Africa in Sydney in 2006. However, the wait for Kohli’s 71st century will be prolonged as he was dismissed by Lasith Embuldeniya for 45.

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Kohli is the fifth-quickest to 8000 runs for an Indian cricket team batter. Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for the fastest to 8000 runs when he got in just 154 innings. Tendulkar achieved the feat in the match against West Indies in Kingston in 2002, when he smashed 87. Rahul Dravid, the current coach of the Indian cricket team, took 157 innings to get to 8000 runs. Virender Sehwag and Sunil Gavaskar are next followed by Virat Kohli. Here is the list of fastest India players to have reached 8000 runs

India Make Solid Start

India won the toss and chose to bat against Sri Lanka on day 1 of the Mohali Test. It was the first Test since 2012 that Cheteshwar Pujara did not feature in the Indian side. Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal made great starts as Sri Lanka struggled for discipline. Just when Rohit was looking in aggressive touch, Lahiru Kumara got his wicket. Mayank Agarwal, who also started confidently, was trapped LBW by Lasith Embuldeniya.

However, Hanuma Vihari, who was promoted ahead of Shreyas Iyer, scored at an aggressive rate. Kohli gave him good support and the duo rotated the strike brilliantly. The partnership went past fifty and soon neared 100 as Sri Lanka struggled to produce the breakthrough.