Virat Kohli was the master of India's batting on Day 4 of the fourth Test against Australia, with the maverick batter ending his long Test century drought and earning praise from many for the way he manoeuvred the bowlers of the Baggy Greens.
It was his 28th century in Tests, and 75th in international cricket, as the former India skipper took the match away from the hands of the Australians. This was also his third century in 2023 after his two ODI hundreds against Sri Lanka.
His international teammate and commentator Dinesh Karthik chimed in with praises after Kohli completed his century off 241 deliveries, which is his second-slowest century against Australia. While on the mic during the match, Karthik lauded the former skipper, saying that Kohli has battled a lot of demons to achieve what he has in his career.
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"His 8th hundred against Australia. He has got it against the best and he has been consistent at that. You go through ebbs and flows when you score a hundred. This one has come slowly to him. It tested his patience, but he definitely battled all the demons, not on the pitch, but in the mind," Karthik said during commentary for Star Sports on Sunday.
"What's been amazing about this knock today is he has batted close to 2 and half hours and not got one boundary yet. He has weathered the storm and done it in his way. And it's been beautiful to watch. It's been a long-time coming," he added.
The swashbuckling batter brought up his century with a single off Nathan Lyon's over. He smashed just five boundaries in his resilient knock. It was Kohli's second-slowest ton in Test cricket.
Prior to his century in Ahmedabad, Kohli had gone 41 innings without scoring a century in Tests. During this time period, Kohli managed to score only six half-centuries in red-ball cricket.
During his long-drawn century knock, Kohli put his head down and allowed the Australians to control the proceedings on a slow deck. The maverick batter was getting occasional singles and doubles to keep the scoreboard moving. He didn't register even a single boundary on Day 4 and continued to grind against an Australian attack that kept things tight from both ends.
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