Before the start of the tour, all the talk of the town was about Virat Kohli’s final frontier. He had a torrid time in the previous tour in 2014. But time has passed and the man has achieved greater heights. Come 2018, first Test and the first innings, a Virat Kohli hundred in England Tests was on show.
It didn’t take him long to stamp his authority in the country that has been raising question marks over his greatness. Virat Kohli hundred in England Tests has silenced the critics who used to term him a flat track bully. Yes, he got a couple of lives on his way to three-figures but what matters is that he capitalized on those chances and went on to play perhaps the best innings of his Test career.
When he walked out to bat, India had lost 2 wickets for 54 and very soon, it was down to 59/3. The ball was moving around aided by the overcast conditions. James Anderson, the bowler who had given Kohli plenty of troubles, was steaming in. The typical English conditions were presented to him but this time around, he was adamant to make a mark.
The wickets kept falling from the other end and India were getting themselves deeper into trouble. He had reached his half-century but the score was down to 182/8 as the visitors were staring down the barrel of a gun. England’s score of 287 was far away. That’s when Kohli decided enough was enough and it was time for him to take center stage.
The Indian captain farmed the strike beautifully with Ishant Sharma at the other end. He went into ODI mode and looked for the boundaries. Pretty quickly, he moved to 97 but there was another twist in the tail. Ishant was trapped in front by Adil Rashid and it seemed that Kohli would be left stranded without a hundred.
But Umesh Yadav hung in there and Kohli finally brought up his first hundred on England soil in Tests. It was Kohli versus England from that point onwards. He kept smashing the bowlers and the partnership for the last wicket yielded 57 runs out of which Yadav had contributed for a solitary run.
Kohli was on the charge but in the hunt for big shots, he got out to Rashid for 149. The deficit was reduced to just 13 runs which meant that the game hung in the balance at stumps on day 2. India’s innings was all about Kohli who ended up scoring more than half the team runs. Whether or not India win the match, this Virat Kohli hundred will remain one of his specials.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to the first Virat Kohli hundred in England Tests:
Below are some tweets on Virat Kohli hundred in England Tests including Sachin Tendulkar and the heart touching tweet of Lata Mangeshkar .
A very important knock by @ImVkohli. Lovely way to set up the Test series. Congrats on your Test hundred. #ENGvIND
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 2, 2018
A masterclass from Virat Kohli, leading from the front. A display of tremendous character determination and grit #ENGIND
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) August 2, 2018
That’s an incredible knock @imVkohli !!! 1 man battle against the moving ball ….. #ENGvIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 2, 2018
The great players eventually overturn aberrations in their stats. Kohli has just done that.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 2, 2018
Outstanding 💯 from Kohli
— David 'Bumble' Lloyd (@BumbleCricket) August 2, 2018
Namaskar @imVkohli. Aaj aapne kamal khel ka pradarshan kiya hai. Khush rahiye,jeete rahiye.
— Lata Mangeshkar (@mangeshkarlata) August 2, 2018
WHAT A CHAMPION 100 👏👏👏 captain leading from the front.. much needed…absolutely brilliant @imVkohli welldone @ImIshant @y_umesh too 👍 #ENDvIND @BCCI pic.twitter.com/kNuDCbqqOx
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) August 2, 2018
Brilliant knock from Kohli. Well played. #ENGvIND
— James Taylor (@jamestaylor20) August 2, 2018
For one of the best stroke players in the world, this Virat 100 was about ‘not’ playing strokes.
Left 40 balls alone. 26 against Anderson. That’s more than 4 overs of Anderson left alone!
👏👏👏🙏🙏🙏— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) August 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/ImRaina/status/1025075099127488512
https://twitter.com/ProfDeano/status/1025074545680560128
This man proves himself again and again with such crucial knocks. A hundred and that too playing with the tail which is not an easy task at all. Required a lot of patience and determination. What a player! @imVkohli #ENDvIND
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) August 2, 2018
Under the circumstances, one of @imVkohli’s greatest centuries. What a player, what a fighter. #ENGvIND
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) August 2, 2018
One of his most important hundreds. An absolutely brilliant innings from @imVkohli . Has single handedly kept India in the game. What a player ! #ENDvIND
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) August 2, 2018
This knock of @imVkohli reminds me of @Schwarzenegger’s role in the movie called “THE LAST STAND”. 👏🏼 👍🏼#ENGvIND
— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) August 2, 2018
First Century. First of Many. Well played, Virat Kohli. Best batsman on the planet. #EngvInd
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) August 2, 2018
Congratulations to @imVkohli for a fantastic 💯,great knock! A captain leading from the front, a delight to watch. #ENGVIND
— Azhar Mahmood (@AzharMahmood11) August 2, 2018
Virat Kohli's knock today is something akin to Sunny Gavaskar's 101 at Old Trafford in June 1974. All about guts and grit against some hostile bowling in adverse conditions!#ENGvIND #INDvENG
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/robbie13flair/status/1025069651586437121
https://twitter.com/tinobest/status/1025057686772232192
https://twitter.com/tiwarymanoj/status/1025059757877587970
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Hello,
As an avid reader of cricadium.com, I love to read the contents on your site, and I think your other readers would as well.
Virat Kohli is always the man of the match. I think all the team members of Team India or Team Blue are very best. But Virat has always been the source of inspiration for many of us. Thank you very much for sharing it with us.
Best,
Sagar Neupane