Virat Kohli ‘playing through sickness’ ran 2.5 kms during marathon knock in Gujarat heat

Former India captain Virat Kohli on Sunday smashed his 28th century in red-ball cricket during the ongoing 4th Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ahmedabad. Kohli hit 186 off 364 balls to register his highest-ever score against the Aussies. Kohli's knock was made up of 15 boundaries and 126 singles, which he scored with a strike rate of 51.09. This was Kohli's first Test century in more than three years. His last Test hundred came against Bangladesh in a pink-ball match in November 2019. 

Thanks to Kohli's magnificent knock, Team India was able to post a mammoth 571 runs in the first innings with a lead of 91 runs. After Kohli scored his 75th international hundred on Sunday, his wife Anushka Sharma took to her official Instagram handle to reveal that he was playing through sickness. She shared a story on her official account, where she wrote, "Playing through sickness with this composure. Inspiring me always," Anushka wrote.

Kohli did not come out to the field during Australia's second innings on Day 4. Suryakumar Yadav took his place for the remaining overs in the day. Kohli's dedication to the game is just mind-blowing as it was on full display during his innings against Australia in the 4th Test. He ran over 2.5 kilometers for just singles and that too with a fever. Kohli scored 126 runs between the wickets apart from his 15 boundaries.  

Kohli's 2.5 km math explained

Pitch length - 22 yards 
Kohli scored - 186 runs (60 in fours, 126 singles)
126 × 22 = 2772 yards of running, completely padded up in Gujarat heat
2772 yards = 2.5 km

Records Kohli broke with his marathon knock

With his century, Kohli broke multiple records in the longest format of the game. Kohli has now become India's highest run-scorer in World Test Championship history. The 34-year-old now has 1803 runs from 31 matches at an average of 36.79. Kohli also registered his highest individual score against Australia in Test cricket. Kohli is now the highest run-scorer for India in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He has amassed 297 runs from four matches at an average of 49.50. Earlier, Kohli equaled Sunil Gavaskar's record for the joint second-most tons by an Indian player against Australia, trailing only Sachin Tendulkar.

Image: BCCI