[Watch] Virat Kohli gets guard of honor from teammates as India come out to field in 1st Test vs Sri Lanka
The ongoing first Test between India and Sri Lanka is the 100th match for Virat Kohli in the longest format of the game and he received a special gesture from his teammates when going out to field today.
India had won the toss and opted to bat, and on Day 2, they declared at 574/8, taking early Tea. As the Men in Blue came out to field, they gave Kohli a guard of honor to commemorate his 100th Test.
Watch the special gesture here:
The smile on @imVkohli's face says it all.
#TeamIndia give him a Guard of Honour on his landmark Test.
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The players flanked him on both sides and applauded as the former skipper ran through them, with one arm raised in acknowledgement and a huge smile on his face.
Virat Kohli felicitated ahead of 100th Test
Ahead of the start of the match yesterday, Virat Kohli -- the 12th Indian to reach the 100-Test mark -- was felicitated in the presence of his wife Anushka Sharma.
India head coach Rahul Dravid, who batted alongside him when he made his debut in the longest format, presented him with his 100th Test cap.
Speaking about how it felt to reach the milestone, Kohli said at the end of day's play yesterday:
"I told Rahul bhai, he asked me the morning, 'How are you feeling?', and I said I feel like I am making my debut all over again, to be honest. I had butterflies in my stomach.
"I didn't realize the magnitude of the occasion till things got closer to today and how the presentation happened, the ceremony happened and there were people in the stadium today as well. It was a moment which was very, very special and I did feel very nervous walking out before."
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🏻What a moment to commemorate his 100th Test appearance in whites 🙌🏻
Words of appreciation from the Head Coach Rahul Dravid and words of gratitude from @imVkohli👏🏻
#VK100 | #INDvSL | @Paytm https://t.co/zfX0ZIirdz
After India's new Test captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat, Kohli came to the crease with the score reading 80/2.
He batted well for his 45 as he put on a 90-run stand with Hanuma Vihari, but fell five runs short of a half-century as Lasith Embuldeniya cleaned him up with a lovely delivery.
However, India went on to declare for 574/8, with Ravindra Jadeja unbeaten on 175 and Rishabh Pant smashing 96 off just 97 deliveries.