Team India failed to make it past the Super Four stage of the 2022 Asia Cup. However, the Men in Blue gained something far more important than the Cup as the real King Kohli arrived again. If the twin fifties earlier in the continental tournament wasn’t it, Virat Kohli’s long-awaited 71st century served as sufficient proof.
India lost the toss and were put in to bat first in the last Super Four game of both the game. The match didn’t hold much value from the tournament’s POV but it provided India the room to experiment.
Rohit and Hardik chose to rest and Rahul shared the opening duties with former Indian captain Virat Kohli.
Kohli’s words to Bhuvi after hitting his 71st century go viral
The Real Kohli came out all guns blazing against Afghanistan’s quality bowling attack.
From the use of the feet against the spinners to the wristy flicks over square leg, almost all the signature Kohli strokes were there to see.
Eventually, Virat Kohli completed his elusive 71st century by the help of a powerful pull shot in the closing stages of the innings, smashing 122* off 61 balls (12 fours and 6 sixes).
The whole team came down to the boundary cushions as Kohli walked towards the dressing room.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was amongst them, and upon getting greeted by him, Kohli said, “Abhi hai cricket baaki (there’s still cricket left).”
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Interestingly, in the days prior to the 2022 Asia Cup and even while it was going on, all kinds of talks regarding Kohli’s form took place. Some wanted him dropped while others suggested that he should be shifted down the order.
However, Virat Kohli proved that to them that there is still a lot of cricket left in him, scoring three 30+ scores (two fifties) to go with his first T20I and 71st international century.
“Firstly I am grateful for how the day went today. Time away from the game gave me a good chance to sit back and observe a lot of things about me,” Virat Kohli was quoted as saying after hitting his 71st century after a torturous gap of 1019 days.