With a superb century against Australia on Day 4 of the fourth Test match in Ahmedabad on Sunday, Virat Kohli has put an end to his century dry spell. In 241 deliveries, Kohli, whose previous Test century occurred in 2019, seemed fully at ease against the Australian bowlers and went on to score a well-deserved 100. With this century, Kohli successfully accomplished what renowned Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar did about 40 years ago. In order to mark the historic occasion, Kohli was able to make a century in his 50th home Test match. When Gavaskar played his 50th Test match at home in Delhi against West Indies in 1983, he also notched a tough century.
In the fourth and final Test against Australia, which would decide the series, Kohli scored 186, putting India’s first inning total at 571. With Australia at 289 for three at the start of the last day, India used Kohli’s first Test century in more than three years to surpass them in the final session. After 364 balls (15×4), Kohli, who was 59 at the start of the game, was out for 186, giving India a 91-run advantage in the first innings. Shreyas Iyer, who was hurt, yet entered the game. In a 162-run partnership with Kohli, all-rounder Axar Patel scored a counterattacking 79 from 113 balls (5×4, 4×6).
That was a memorable innings for the former captain of India, who hadn’t scored a hundred since 2019 and hadn’t reached fifty in about a year. There were no nerves for Kohli during the fourth Test match, though, as he outplayed every Australian bowler and hit a well-deserved hundred in 241 balls.
At Ahmedabad’s largest cricket stadium in the world, there were wild celebrations when he reached the milestones. He recognised the audience and the dressing room while appearing to cry, kissed the locket on his gold chain, smiled, and raised his gaze to the sky. Even the Australian players showed their appreciation for Kohli by applauding after he hit the triple digits.
After reaching his first Test half-century since January 2022 on day three on a pitch that favoured the batsmen, the great batsman resumed play on his overnight total of 59. To give India a 91-run lead in the first innings, he formed strong partnerships with Shubman Gill, KS Bharat, and Ravindra Jadeja.