IND vs SL 2022: Never thought I would play 100 Test matches – Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli admitted that he never thought he would go on to play 100 Test matches for the national team before playing his landmark Test match against Sri Lanka in Mohali.

Kohli made his Test debut against West Indies at Sabina Park in 2011 and since then he has taken giant strides in the red-ball version.

Kohli has thus far scored 7962 runs in 99 Test matches at an average of 50.39 and he has been a key performer for the team in the last decade. The talisman has scored 27 Test centuries and he will definitely look to give his best in his special Test match.

It has been an incredible journey for Virat Kohli, who has paid special importance to Test cricket and has played a key role in taking India’s Test team to new heights. Kohli will become the 12th Indian player and 71st overall to play 100 Test matches. Furthermore, he will become the third player from Delhi after Virender Sehwag and Ishant Sharma to play a century of Test matches.

Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ishant Sharma, and Harbhajan Singh have played 100 and more Test matches for India.

“I honestly never thought I would play 100 Test matches. It has been a long journey. We played a lot of cricket over the course of playing those 100 Test matches. A lot of international cricket. I am just grateful that I’ve been able to make it to 100. God has been kind. I have worked really hard for my fitness. It’s a big moment for me, for my family, for my coach, who is also very happy and very proud of this Test match as long as I am concerned,” Virat Kohli said in a video posted by BCCI.

On the other hand, Kohli revealed that his plans were always to score big runs even before he played first-class cricket. Kohli kept rising through the ranks and he was able to reap rewards for his hard work.

“I never grew up thinking that I have to score small runs, the idea was to score big runs. I scored a lot of double hundreds in junior cricket. My idea was to bat long and I enjoyed doing that. These things took a lot out of you and it revealed your true character. Test cricket needed to stay alive, for me, this is real cricket,” he added.

Kohli will look to deliver the goods in his 100th Test match and he would aim to get a big score against the Island nation.