Virat Kohli, with his 76th International ton in the second Test against West Indies in Trinidad, broke several records. It was the former India captain's first overseas Test ton since December, 2018. It was also his 29th Test ton, as he equalled the great Don Bradman's tally. That the century in his 500th international match made the occasion more special. He now has the most number of tons in 500 international matches, surpassing the previous record of 75 tons, held by Sachin Tendulkar. While lauding Kohli, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt made an interesting observation.
"Virat Kohli is not only fit, he is the fittest. When you talk about top three fittest persons in cricket he will be there. In fact, he might be right there at the top when it comes to fitness," Salman Butt said on his YouTube channel.
"This commitment and self-discipline depends on that particular individual. You can't force anyone to do this. Kohli has got incredible commitment with himself. It is not that he is doing it at the insistence of the coach. Because if the coach does it, he would have been telling it to everybody. The full Indian team is not as fit as Virat. Some of the players are visibly not as fit. Ravindra Jadeja is fit, even MS Dhoni is fit. though some other players are not that fit. It's about managing yourself. See Babar Azam. I have seen him practise alone."
Following his 76th international century in his 500th international match, star India batter Virat Kohli said that his century was satisfying as he had to "do the hard yards" and added that he had to be patient as the wicket was slow.
"I really enjoyed myself out there. I was in the rhythm I wanted to be in. Started off in challenging times. I switch on during these times. When I have something to overcome, I get charged up. I had to be patient as the outfield was slow. It was very satisfying as I had to do the hard yards," said Virat after the day's play.
Now, after his 500 games, Virat has a record that everyone in the cricketing world would envy no doubt, scoring 25,582 runs at an average of 53.63. He has scored 76 centuries and 131 half-centuries in 559 innings, with the best score of 254*. He became the first player ever to smash a century in his 500th international match.
Among the 'Fab Four' of modern batting, he is at third, with Australia's Steve Smith (32), England's Joe Root (30) above him and New Zealand's Kane Williamson (28) below him when it comes to Test hundreds.
With ANI inputs
