Will Virat score a century in tomorrow’s match?

“Virat Kohli and Century” which was considered an endless love story seems to have complications in their current relationship. The last time Virat crossed the three-figure mark was in November 2019 when he had scored 136 runs against Bangladesh in Kolkata, which was the first-ever pink ball test held in India. With that century, Virat had added yet another feather to his cap by being the first Indian batsman to score a century in a pink ball test.

Numbers Game:

However, Kohli hasn’t added many records to his illustrious list since then. In the 17 test innings played since then, King Kohli has scored only 407 runs at a poor average of 24, with three ducks and three scores of below five. Kohli’s contribution with the bat of 40 and 12 in the Lord’s test was insignificant to victory since major contributions were the 100 run stand between Pujara and Rahane, 89 run partnership between Shami and Bumrah, and of course the 8 crucial wickets struck by Siraj in the match.

Adding fuel to the agony of Kohli’s fans is the fact that India won the Australia series in Australia last year without Virat Kohli in the line-up. Kohli had played only the first test which India had lost embarrassingly. Even Gavaskar opined that Kohli is getting a “free pass” while Rahane and Pujara are being made scapegoats.

There is no debate in the fact that Kohli has earned himself the tag “GOAT”. Also, his presence itself in the team gives a different aura to the Indian Cricket Team. Kohli also is a team-man and can go to any extent to defend his teammates. However, with the recent slump in form of Kohli, it’s necessary that he silences the critics with the way he has always done it: with the willow.

Two Major Reasons why Kohli might score a century in this match :

Every Indian cricket fan knows the ability of Kohli and has seen for themselves live on their TV Boxes, Mobiles and perhaps everywhere they go. Also, genuine fans of Kohli know how much of a team-man he is. With India being already 1-0 up in the series, Kohli doesn’t have to worry much about the team and can focus on himself and his batting. The win at Lord’s had been a complete team performance with each player chipping in to contribute to the victory. This just eases Kohli’s task of focusing on his individual performance since all players seem to be in nice touch in their roles.

Kohli was also seen playing graciously in the second test match with clean strokes, neat follow-through, and strong defense. Though he wasn’t able to score big, the way he was batting was a joy to watch. Fans even felt then that this might be the time that Kohli takes off his helmet and does his trademark celebration. Though that was not the case, the flow that he has picked up will help him immensely to score big in the test set at Headingley.