Kohli dedicated his 76th ton to wife Anushka and daughter Vamika. (Image source: Twitter)
Team India’s star batter Virat Kohli smashed his 29th Test hundred on Friday in the second match of the 2-match series against West Indies. As the play on Day 2 begin, Kohli was just 14 runs away from his 76th hundred in international and he completed it in style with a fine square drive to reach the three figures. Kohli celebrated by hugging his partner on the other end, Ravindra Jadeja, and later raised his bat to a standing ovation from his dressing room.
Kohli then bowed to his teammates and kissed his wedding ring on his neck chain which was dedicated to his wife Anushka Sharma and daughter Vamika at home.
Watch the video here:
Trademark Virat Kohli Celebration
Kiss His Wedding Ring #ViratKohli #INDvWIpic.twitter.com/G1sUh6pjn0— Lokesh Saini (@LokeshVirat18K) July 21, 2023
Kohli is already the leading run-getter for Team India after the great Sachin Tendulkar and he is now only 24 centuries away from getting 100 hundreds in international cricket. The lean patch of three years where he did not score a single ton was the toughest phase Kohli faced in his career recently.
He broke the jinx with a T20I century which was also his first in the format against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup 2022. It was his first in 1021 days, he then dedicated that one to his wife Anushka and daughter Vamika. (Highest run-getters for Team India history)
He later explained his celebration, “I know there was a lot of stuff going outside. And I kissed my ring. You see me standing here because one person has put things in perspective for me. That’s Anushka. This hundred is for her and for our little daughter Vamika as well. When you have someone next to you having conversations putting things in perspective, like Anushka has been…”
It was also Kohli’s 500th international match for Team India. If we compare that stat to Sachin Tendulkar, the Little Master has 24,939 runs in his first 499 matches. Interestingly, both had 75 tons at the 499-match mark.