Wait of a century: Virat Kohli’s extended century drought in focus again
In the year 2017, Virat Kohli struck eleven centuries and ten half-centuries. In the coming year, he again struck eleven centuries to go with nine half-centuries this time. However, the batsman who once struck centuries with a sense of inevitability is now struggling to reach the three-figure mark. The wait which began in November 2019 continues to haunt Virat Kohli fans.
As the numbers reveal, this is overwhelmingly the longest Kohli has taken to score a century in international cricket. The second-longest (282 days) gap was between the 2nd and 3rd century when he was finding his feet at the highest level. Of course, the current gap between his centuries also includes the lockdown period which adds a gap of around eight months in India’s fixtures. However, Kohli has had ample opportunities to remove this blemish.
Batting record since November 2019
In the first-ever day-night Test held on the Indian soil, Kohli marked the historic event with a sterling knock of 136 runs against Bangladesh. Since that Test, the Indian captain has played 31 matches across formats (13 T20Is, 12 ODIs and 6 Tests) and is yet to reach that elusive three-figure mark. In the total of 35 innings that he has batted in, Kohli has struck 12 fifties and averages 40.18 while scoring a total of 1286 runs.
The closest Kohli came to celebrating a century was actually in the very next match of the Bangladesh Test. In the T20I against West Indies in Hyderabad, the genius smashed 94 runs in 50 balls. In the chase of 208 runs, Kohli was 78 off 46 balls with 15 runs needed to win. He completed the task in four balls with 2 sixes and 2 twos. His innings of 94 not out is his highest individual score in international cricket since November 2019.
Virat Kohli DOES have a weakness:
Josh Hazlewood.#Cricket #AUSvIND #AUSvsIND #Hazlewood #Kohli #ODI pic.twitter.com/VAxJLmUlc0
— Sportscaster Media (@SportscastMedia) December 2, 2020
There have been other close shaves too. Kohli was bowled on 85 by Keemo Paul in an ODI. Australia’s Josh Hazlewood has twice dismissed him on 89 in ODIs, once in Bengaluru and once in Sydney. Andrew Tye, Hazlewood’s compatriot, also sent back Kohli on 85 in a T20I in Sydney. And just when he was sublime at the crease in the infamous Adelaide Test, Ajinkya Rahane’s calling mistake saw Kohli getting run out on 74.
The upcoming opportunities
Kohli did notch up two fifties against England in the first three Tests. His knock of 72 on a wearing Chennai track in the fourth innings of the first Test was a masterclass. The knock was ample proof that the century drought won’t last long. Kohli is likely to feature in all the remaining home fixtures which include one Test, five T20Is and three ODIs against England before the IPL kicks off.
The next century will 71st for Kohli in international cricket. With it, he will go past Australia’s Ricky Ponting to take a clear second spot in the list of most centuries in all formats of the game. His next hundred will also make him the captain with the most tons in international cricket (41) again breaking Ponting’s record.
The world around us has changed drastically since 2019. In this ‘new normal’ phase, we got used to new habits, new routines and a newer way of doing things. However, Kohli not scoring a century is not the new normal anyone wants to get accustomed to. Hopefully, the day of Kohli raising his bat to acknowledge the end of the long wait is not too far.
