Kohli becomes fastest batsman to score 24 Test hundreds since Bradman

Rajkot: India skipper Virat Kohli on Friday scored his 24th Test hundred on the 2nd day of the first Test against West Indies.

The captain piled on more misery on West Indies bowlers, as he reached the landmark in 184 deliveries. The right-handed batsman scored 139 runs before being dismissed by Sherman Lewis. In the innings, the captain smashed 10 fours.

During the course of the innings, the 29-year-old also completed 3,000 Test runs in India.

This is Kohli’s 4th hundred in the longest format this year in 10 Tests. His previous hundred in the format came in the second innings of the third Test against England. He also crossed the 1,000-run mark in this calendar year, becoming the leading run scorer in the format. It is for the third consecutive year the Indian captain has reached the landmark, and he becomes the first Indian batsman to do so.

Kohli became the fastest to reach 24 Test century since Australia’s Sir Don Bradman, who reached the mark in 66 innings. It has taken him 123 innings to reach the mark, while the former India legend Sachin Tendulkar had taken 125 innings to score 24 Test centuries, whil Sunil Gavaskar reached the landmarks in 128 innings.

This Virat 100 was all about keeping himself motivated to get one. Considering his ability and the quality of challenge. Well done on that front Virat! #INDvsWI

Kohli’s ton came a day after the visitors were made to work hard on the first day of the Test by the debutant Prithvi Shaw, who scored his maiden Test ton. India managed to cross the 500-run mark on Day 2 with Rishabh Pant also smashing quick 92 runs before being dismissed by Devendra Bishoo.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)