Virat Kohli equals Sunil Gavaskar's record as he ends century drought in Test cricket

After a wait of three years and four months, Virat Kohli has finally scored his 28th Test century in the ongoing fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, putting an end to his unusually long wait for a three-figure score in red-ball cricket. Kohli had last scored a Test century in November 2019, and this knock will be one that he will remember for a long time. Kohli had broken his century-less streak in international cricket last year with a hundred each in T20Is and ODIs, and then added a 74th earlier this year against Sri Lanka in an ODI.

Kohli equals Gavaskar's record

This is Kohli's first Test century in 1205 days. Kohli has emulated a remarkable feat accomplished by Sunil Gavaskar 40 years ago as both players celebrated their 50th Test at home with a century, batting at No. 4. As Gavaskar was celebrating his 14th century at home, Kohli is now celebrating his 13th. This is Kohli's eighth Test century against Australia, equaling Gavaskar's record for the joint second-most tons by an Indian player against Australia, trailing only the famous Sachin Tendulkar.

Kohli started the morning session well but then slowed down. It's worth mentioning that Kohli hit his first boundary of the day seven balls before the session ended. Kohli was a little nervous on the best batting pitch of the series, but he quickly recovered. He was squared up by a twisting ball from Matthew Kuhnemann on Day 3 and overcame a number of LBW shouts with the impact plainly being outside off on Day 4.

By lunch, Kohli was still undefeated on 88, scoring at a strike rate of 40, which is not normally associated with Kohli, but the situation of the game dictated his strategy. Kohli was content to bide his time as India plundered 73 runs from 32 overs, losing only one wicket - Ravindra Jadeja. Following lunch, though, the tempo of the innings quickened, and KS Bharat switched gears, smashing Cameron Green for six, six, and four runs in a 21-run over, the most expensive of the series. This meant that Kohli had to be content with singles to get through the 90s.

India's fifth wicket fell when KS Bharat inside-edged the ball onto his pads, sending it airborne for Peter Handscomb to easily catch at forward short leg, with Kohli just two runs away from his century. However, Kohli was not deterred by the dismissal and calmly scored a couple of singles in the following two overs to reach his 75th international century. Kohli celebrated the milestone by lifting his bat, removing his helmet, and kissing his wedding ring.

Image: Twitter/BCCI