Port of Spain, July 21: The peerless Virat Kohli capped off his 500th international appearance with a 76th hundred as India were comfortably placed at 373 for 6 going into lunch on the second day of the second Test against West Indies here on Friday.
Kohli, who missed out on a hundred in the previous Test, made a polished 121 in 206 balls, his 29th in the longest format while adding 159 runs for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (61 off 152 balls).
Both were dismissed in quick succession as Kohli fell short of his crease and West Indies’ best bowler Kemar Roach (2/86 in 19 overs) accounted for Jadeja.
At the break, Ravichandran Ashwin (6 batting) had batter-keeper Ishan Kishan (18 batting) for company as India, after a poor post lunch session on the first day, are well on their way to a healthy first innings total.
However, the first session on second day belonged to Kohli, who was hardly troubled by any of the West Indies pacers, having taken 77 runs in singles, doubles and triples apart from the 11 boundaries in all.
Starting the day at 87, Kohli reached his century in the first half an hour while dispatching a Roach delivery wide of point. The wide grin while raising his bat and then taking a bow said it all.
The satisfaction of scoring his first overseas Test hundred in half a decade was palpable, having last scored a ton on foreign soil in Perth in 2018.
The Queens Park Oval track is certainly way better for strokeplay compared to first Test venue of Windsor Park in Dominica. One could hit through the line even though there were deliveries that were gripping off the surface and some that stopped and came onto the bat.
Kohli’s greatness lay in his game awareness as the cornerstone of his innings was 45 singles and 13 doubles in energy sapping conditions.
He would be pleased because as many as nine of his 11 boundaries were hit on the off-side with the signature cover drive coming out of his closet time and again.
To his relief, the absence of off-break Rahkeem Cornwall did make things a bit easier as Jomel Warrican, despite his restrictive lines, did not get a lot of purchase off the surface.
Most of the deliveries come in with the angle and it was easier to just tickle it off his hips for singles and doubles.
Kohli got an able ally in Jadeja, who got his 19th half-century and reaffirmed his status as a batting all-rounder in overseas conditions. PTI
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