Former head coach of the Indian team, Ravi Shastri talked about the long-awaited 71st century of Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri have worked together for quite a long as the skipper-coach duo of the Indian team. The duo worked wonders for the team, especially in the test format. And throughout this time, Shastri has observed Kohli and his game closely.
Virat Kohli finally scored his much talked about and much delayed the 71st century. The former skipper last scored a century in 2019, almost three years back. These three years, 1020 days to be specific witnessed incessant scrutiny of his game and form by many. And the low phase affected Kohli mentally as well. And thus, when the century finally came in on Thursday, September 8th, Kohli looked relieved.
Relieved of the wait of three years, relieved of the noise and the scrutiny, and relieved to be back in control of his form. Moreover, Kohli scored this one in the T20 format, registering his maiden international century in the format. And with the T20 World Cup scheduled not too far ahead, this looks like the perfect time for him to claim his true dominance in this format too.
Ravi Shastri talks about Virat Kohli finally scoring the 71st
King Kohli is back and back. He is bloody good. What a player. pic.twitter.com/zoWS6Haiw9
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 8, 2022
Ravi Shastri retired as the coach of the team not too long ago. And as the coach before Rahul Dravid, he has seen Virat Kohli suffering through the dry spell. And thus, now when the low phase is finally over, Shastri speaks up about it from a place of knowing. Shastri opined that Virat Kohli must feel 5 kilos light, now that the mental pressure has finally evaporated.
“You mentioned 1020 days, I can say 700 days I was in that dressing room when that happened. It’s a long time. The monkey is off his back now. When you had astounding success like he has, when 70 hundreds come like this, then you go through a patch of one, two years, two-and-half years, two-and-three quarter years, and then everyday people start reminding – ‘It’s been that long’. He is human. It would have been eating him up. He would be getting up every morning, whether thinking of it or not, subconsciously being reminded,” Ravi Shastri said.
“Today, I think he will be five kilos less. Don’t ask me where the weight has gone from, five kilos less at least from the head. You could see from the last 40 runs of his innings. It was Virat Kohli. His trade mark shots, the confidence, the poise, the utter disdain for bowling is back. It took a long time coming.”
