‘I was desperate to get to the three-figure mark’: Virat Kohli on ending his century drought in Test cricket

Team India batter Virat Kohli has admitted that he was frustrated at not being able to convert his starts into big scores in Test cricket over the last three years. He stated that he was desperate to reach three figures only because wanted to make bigger and more significant contributions to the team.

Kohli broke his century drought in red-ball cricket for India in the Ahmedabad Test against Australia, scoring a patient 186 off 364 balls. The 34-year-old batter’s ton was his first in Test cricket since November 2019, when she scored 136 against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

In a conversation with Team India head coach Rahul Dravid, Kohli opened up on what was going through his mind when he wasn’t getting big scores.

The former captain said, “To be honest, I let the complications grow on me a little bit because of my own shortcomings. The desperation to get that three-figure mark is something that can grow on you as a batsman. We have all experienced that at some stage or the other. I let that happen to me to a certain extent.

“The flip side to it is I am not a guy who is happy with 40 and 45s.” Kohli continued, “I’ve always been someone who takes a lot of pride in performing for the team. It’s not like Virat Kohli should stand out. When I am batting on 40, I know I can get a 150 here and that will help my team."

He added:

“That was eating me up a lot. Why am I not able to get that big score for the team? I always took pride in the fact that when the team needed me, I would step up and perform in different conditions in difficult situations. The fact that I wasn’t able to do that was something that was bothering me.”

Kohli hit 15 fours in his knock in Ahmedabad and shared a 162-run stand for the sixth wicket with all-rounder Axar Patel (79). India ended up posting 571 in their first innings, responding to Australia’s 480.
“I never played for the milestones” - Virat Kohli

While Kohli is second on the list of batters with the most international hundreds (75), he stated that he has never played for milestones.

The right-handed batter elaborated that for him centuries are just a part of the process of doing well for the team. Kohli said:

“I never played for the milestones. A lot of people ask me - how do you keep scoring hundreds? I always told them that a hundred in something that happens along the way within my goal, which is to bat as long as possible for the team and get as many runs as possible for the team. The milestone is never my focus.

Concluding his thoughts on his much-awaited hundred, Kohli asserted:

“I am happy that it happened at the right time, before the World Test Championship final. I’ll definitely be going there a very relaxed and a very excited man.”

India will face Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval from June 7 to 11.