Ranking Virat Kohli's top 10 Test centuries ft. Edgbaston 2018
Team India ace batter Virat Kohli's red-ball run has taken a hit in the recent past, but that does not take away his exploits in the format, which is much more than mere run-making. He has been an ambassador for the format since the start, and a crucial voice rooting for the traditional game in changing times for the sport.
It took a little while for Kohli to get going in Tests, but once he did, there was no looking back. He went on to be the natural successor to Sachin Tendulkar and become the backbone of the batting lineup.
Kohli has witnessed several highs and lows in his red-ball career, which has over 100 appearances in over a decade. His 29 Hundreds are all special in one way or the other, but there are a few, particularly the overseas displays that hold a bigger significance than the rest.
On that note, let us rank Virat Kohli's top 10 Test centuries.
#10 200 runs off 283 deliveries (1st Test vs West Indies, 2016; Antigua)
Despite his red-ball career flourishing and the runs flowing consistently after taking over as captain, Kohli was accused of not converting his hundreds into something more significant.
In the end, it took him 72 appearances to score his first double-hundred in Test cricket. He was dismissed for exactly 200 runs off 283 deliveries, while a Ravichandran Ashwin ton helped India push past the 500-run mark.
The bowlers made easy work of the Men in Maroon to hand India a win by an innings and 92 runs.
#9 243 runs off 283 deliveries (3rd Test vs Sri Lanka, 2017; Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi)
A Bazball-esque knock by Kohli on his home ground was memorable for a number of reasons. The ace batter made the most of a flat surface and a lackluster Sri Lankan bowling unit to pile on the runs.
Kohli's double century, which came at a strike rate of 84.67, including 25 fours, helped India put on a mammoth 536/7 in the first innings. He followed it up with a quickfire fifty in the second innings, but Sri Lanka were able to force a draw in the end.
#8 254 runs off 336 balls (2nd Test vs South Africa; 2019, Pune)
This marks Kohli's highest Test score to date. In a series where South Africa hardly had a say in the proceedings, India made a mockery of the contest in Pune after piling on 601 runs in the first innings.
Kohli eased his way to an unbeaten 254 run-knock, with 33 fours and two sixes as the Proteas had to bowl a total of 156.3 overs, and were only able to take five wickets. India claimed the series with utter ease by bowling out South Africa twice in quick succession to win by an innings and 137 runs.
#7 235 runs off 340 balls (4th Test vs England; 2016, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai)
After a clinical hundred in Vizag that helped India attain a lead in the home series against England, they had the chance towrap things up and claim an unassaible lead with a win in the fourth Test.
England piled up 400 runs in the first innings, and while that is considered to be a decent score, it was nullified by Kohli's mastery. The former skipper scored 235 runs off 340 balls, tiring the English bowlers to no extent, and helped India post 631 in reply. It was more than enough for India as they went onto win by an innings and 36 runs.
#6 123 runs off 257 balls (2nd Test vs Australia; 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar series; Perth)
One of Kohli's criminally underrated and overlooked red-ball knocks came during the second Test of the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar series. Coming after taking a rare 1-0 series lead Down Under, India were brought back to ground with a testing surface.
When the other batters struggled against the potent Australian bowling unit, Kohli stood tall. He scored 123 runs off 257 deliveries in the team total of 283, where the next highest score was Pujara with 51, and six batters failed to record double-figure scores.
#5 153 runs off 217 balls (2nd Test vs South Africa, 2018; Supersport Park, Centurion)
South Africa is a place where only a few Indian batters have succeeded on a consistent basis. The strength of the opposition and the challenging conditions involving pace and bounce have been outside the comfort zone of several batters. In a way, it mirrors India's plight as they have never won a red-ball series in the Rainbow Nation.
However, considering only Kohli's displays with the bat in South Africa, it has come at an average of 50. One of his most memorable displays came in the second 2018, when he scored 153 runs off 217 deliveries. The rest of the Indian batters struggled to have a say while Kohli breezed his way to a ton.
His hundred helped India score 307 runs in the first innings, with no other batter even able to make it to the fifty-run mark.
#4 169 runs off 272 balls (3rd Test vs Australia; 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar series, Melbourne Cricket Ground)
Kohli's campaign in Australia back in 2014-15 is arguably one of the most dominant overseas exploits by an Indian batter. After his heroics in Adelaide albeit in a losing cause, he followed it up with yet another memorable display in Melbourne.
Playing against an intimidating bowling unit of Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, and Josh Hazlewood and trying to catch up to Australia's mammoth 530-run first innings total, Kohli delivered a classic.
In an innings rife with exchanges with Johnson, there is balance restored in the form of Kohli's class. Kohli's mammoth hundred coupled with a huge partnership with fellow centurion Ajinkya Rahane, helped India minimise Australia's advantage and walk away with a draw.
#3 103 runs off 295 balls (4th Test vs England; 2012, Nagpur)
Perhaps his greatest knock in the early stages of his red-ball career, and the one that proved that he is here to stay, was his toiling knock against England on a bonafide rank turner in Nagpur. Playing against the duo of Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann who had troubled him all series, Kohli was in desperate need of a good score.
Fighting to draw the series, Kohli and Dhoni joined forces when the score was 71/4. The famous pair batted for 85 overs, trying to keep the English bowlers at bay. Kohli was eventually trapped by Swann after reaching his hundred, and it helped India match England's first innings total.
#2 141 runs off 175 balls (1st Test vs Australia; 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar series; Adelaide Oval)
Another undisputed great in Kohli's archives came on his captaincy debut for India. Leading the team in MS Dhoni's absence, Kohli scored a ton in his maiden outing as captain, but a daunting task awaited him the second time around.
Australia set a mammoth 364-run target, and India unconventionally tried to go for it. Kohli's ton, and Murali Vijay's heroics placed India comfortably 242/2 at one stage. However, a collapse, which escalated after Kohli's dismissal for 141 runs meant that the visitors were bowled out for 315.
#1 149 runs off 225 balls (1st Test vs England, 2018; Edgbaston)
A certified classic and perhaps the unanimous masterpiece when it comes to Kohli's red-ball displays. After conquering the subcontinent, South Africa, and Australia, the one place that haunted Kohli was England. The scars of the previous tour, where he scored only 134 runs in 10 innings, were reminded when he revisited as captain four years later.
After England were bowled out for 287 in the first innings, India were reduced to 100/5, with the batters struggling to deal with Sam Curran and the rest of the pace attack. Kohli had to hang around with the lower order to stretch the total as much as possible.
In his efforts, he scored a memorable 149 off 225 deliveries, with the second-highest run-getter of the innings being Shikhar Dhawan with 26 runs.