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Rahul Dravid makes Virat Kohli’s 100th Test appearance memorable

Dravid termed Kohli’s career a testament to everything that is great in cricket

It was indeed a proud moment for Virat Kohli. When the Indian cricket team stepped out to play first Test match in the current series against Sri Lanka, Kohli reached the milestone of having played 100 Test matches. Thirty-three-year-old Kohli became the 12th Indian cricketer after Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma to play 100 Tests with this milestone

Adding to the excitement of having reached the 100 Tests milestone, Viral Kohli also had the privilege of having something many could only dream of. Kohli was fortunate enough to receive a special cap just ahead of his 100th Test appearance from none other than Rahul Dravid.

Dravid showers praise on Kohli

The former India skipper and head coach of the Indian cricket team felicitated Virat in the presence of the entire Indian side ahead of the start of the Test match. Before handing over the special cap, Rahul Dravid spoke a few words that could be considered as a real acknowledgement to the perseverance and hard work that had gone into the making of a fascinating cricketer.

Describing Kohli’s career as a “testament to everything that is great” in the game of cricket, Dravid went to add that it is “a testament to everything that is great in our sport… sweat, discipline, courage, skill, determination, desire, focus”.

Pointing out that Virat Kohli has had a great journey, Dravid told his junior player that he can be very proud of not only playing the 100th Test match but also for the great journey that he has navigated through. He summed Virat’s astounding career as “well deserved, well earned, and hopefully it is just the start of many things to come”.

Kohli salutes Test format

Kohli, who received the special cap and the words of appreciation from Rahul Dravid in the presence of his wife Anushka Sharma and his team mates, thanked all around him and all who had been supporting him through his career. He also thanked the BCCI, adding that the in present day cricket, “with the amount we play with three formats and an IPL, the one takeaway the next generation can take from me is that I played 100 games in the purest format.” That, indeed, came as a salute to the Test format of cricket.

Virat Kohli, who will look to make his 100th Test appearance memorable as he pads up to play against Sri Lanka, has so far amassed 7,962 runs in 99 Tests at an average of 50.39. He has also scored 27 Test hundreds through the course of his career.

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Sanjeev Ramachandran

A journalist with 23 years of experience, Sanjeev has worked with reputed media houses such as Business Standard, The Ne More »
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