Former head coach of India Ravi Shastri said this Sunday that the incredible inning of hundred runs scored by Virat Kohli is an “ominous” sign for Australia. Not even a single one of the touring players in the last 15 years would have produced such knocks more frequently than this batting star.
Kohli used all his technical abilities to score the 30th hundred on the third day of the first Test against Australia here, while going through an unlucky run just prior to this five-match series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
This was a tally of seven centuries in Australia for 36-year-old Kohli, which is the highest by an Indian, with one above the great Sachin Tendulkar (6).
The last century before this by Kohli was a score of 121 against West Indies in Port of Spain, July 2023, and this number has swelled to 15 innings since then with no three-figure mark.
“Seven hundreds in Australia. The big stage, the big ground. One of the bounciest pitches in the world. I doubt an overseas player in the last 15 years has come to Australia and played in this fashion,” Shastri said on Fox Cricket commentary.
“But look at the joy. It’s a popular hundred, and I think fans the world over wished to see this bloke come to Australia and perform again.” Talking to the broadcasters just post-his hundred, Kohli mentioned his wife Anushka Sharma for supporting him tides and ebbs of life, and Shastri knew it must be an emotional moment for him.
“This is a special moment. Look at his family, and his wife, out here. He will have a tear in his eye. He has worked so hard for it.
It really means a lot to him. What a servant he has been for Indian cricket and what an ambassador for Test match cricket worldwide.” Shastri said he knew Kohli would have an extraordinary innings the moment he came out to bat.
“But sometimes with great players, the moment they come in from the outset in the first 10 minutes you saw his feet moving, you knew the signs were there that the big man is back.” Former Australia opener David Warner, who scored a similar drought-breaking ton in Perth last year during his farewell series, knew exactly what was going through Kohli’s head
“Absolutely phenomenal. I can feel it-the emotions. The bond shared between him and his wife and his family and what it means for him.
“The people will never understand what kind of life you live behind closed doors. The thoughts you have in your head, as Virat Kohli said. Not easy work. Well done Virat.”
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