IND vs SL: Can Virat Kohli finish 27-month look ahead to 71st worldwide hundred in Bengaluru?

India vs Sri Lanka: Chasing an elusive 71st worldwide hundred for 27 months now, Virat Kohli would hope to finish the wait in Bengaluru.

IND vs SL: Can Virat Kohli finish look ahead to elusive 71st worldwide hundred at Chinnaswamy? (AFP Photo)

HIGHLIGHTSKohli would hope to finish his 27-month look ahead to his 71st worldwide hundredKohli has gone 68 innings in worldwide cricket with out reaching the hundredKohli’s final worldwide hundred got here in a ‘Pink Ball’ recreation in 2019

India star Virat Kohli would hope to finish his 27-month look ahead to his 71st elusive worldwide hundred at his second residence when India tackle an under-prepared and injury-hit Sri Lanka within the second Test beneath floodlights in Bengaluru.

Notably, Kohli’s final worldwide hundred got here in a ‘Pink Ball’ recreation by which India thrashed Bangladesh by an innings and 46 runs in Kolkata, again in November 2019. He had scored 136 again then. Kohli has gone 68 innings in worldwide cricket with out reaching the three-figure mark since hitting 136 in Kolkata towards Bangladesh in November 2019.

Also, Kohli has managed to attain a 50-plus rating solely six occasions, with the best being a knock of 79 towards South Africa in Cape Town in January this yr. However, Virat Kohli’s streak with out a hundred for batters within the high 5 in Tests and ODIs will not be the longest one as there are 32 streaks longer than Kohli’s.

Kohli returns to his non secular residence in Bengaluru

Virat Kohli returns to his non secular residence in Bengaluru and the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, a venue which he is aware of just like the again of his palm as he has led his IPL facet Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for a decade.

Also, Kohli might get one other increase within the type of followers because the Karnataka State Cricket Association on Thursday allowed one hundred pc crowd attendance for the second Test between India and Sri Lanka on the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, owing to a pointy decline in Covid-19 instances and excessive demand for tickets.

Kohli had bought a begin even within the Mohali Test however couldn’t make full use of that. It’s not that he’s not batting nicely. He remains to be hanging the ball with ease and that trademark fluency can also be there, however the lapse of focus at occasions is changing into his undoing.

Fatigue that creeps in with a punishing schedule and age could possibly be elements and the insecurity as a result of noise surrounding him outdoors the cricket grounds can also be one thing that’s maybe affecting his batting.

Batting towards a below-average Sri Lankan assault on a relatively small floor is definitely an ideal alternative to return out of the lean patch in entrance of the capability crowd that has all the time egged him on.

It would be the final Test match on residence soil for Virat Kohli and India in 2022. There are seven extra Tests within the present WTC cycle after the Sri Lankan sequence.