The heartbreaking run out of MS Dhoni In 2019 WC Final; Virat Kohli after 71st century (Source: Web & AFP)
Virat Kohli, the face of the Indian cricket, has taken the world of cricket by storm since his international debut in August 2008. In a short time, Kohli established himself as one of the greatest batters to grace the field.
However, Kohli’s rise to the top of the cricketing world was not an overnight success story. It was built on years of hard work, determination, and an unrelenting pursuit of excellence.
At the same time, it is important to remember that all athletes, regardless of skill and success, go through ups and downs in their careers. No one is immune to poor form or struggles, and it’s not uncommon for even the greatest players to go through rough patches.
Kohli’s hunger for success and his never-say-die attitude have earned him the nickname “Run Machine.”
Virat Kohli’s journey between his 70th and 71st centuries
It is also important to remember that Kohli, too, is human and has faced many challenges, both on and off the field.
Virat Kohli had faced immense, unprecedented online hostility, relentless trolling, and toxic criticism during his nearly three-year international century drought, from November 2019 to September 2022.
On September 8, 2022, in an Asia Cup Super Four encounter against Afghanistan in Dubai, Virat Kohli scored his first T20I century for India, breaking a 1,020 days-day wait for his 71st international century.
Throughout his innings, Kohli broke a lot of records. In place of Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, Kohli started the innings. Ibrahim Zadran dropped Kohli at 28.
With 276 runs in five innings, he had then scored the most runs in Asia Cup 2022. Prior to the India vs Afghanistan T20Is, Kohli had played in just four T20Is this year, totalling 81 runs in just four innings.
The 37-year-old had last scored an international century on November 23, 2019, in Kolkata, during a pink-ball Test match against Bangladesh.
In this century draught of 3 years, Indian cricket had evolved immensely. Today marks the 4th anniversary of Kohli's comeback 100. Hence, in this article, let’s check out 5 things that changed between Virat Kohli’s 70th and 71st international ton.
1) MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket
During the time between Virat Kohli’s 70th and 71st international century, cricket saw a moment that tugged at the heartstrings of fans worldwide.
MS Dhoni, one of Virat Kohli's mentor and senior teammate, announced his international cricket retirement on August 15th, 2020 through a special Instagram post. Dhoni had last played for India in the semifinal of the ICC World Cup 2019 against New Zealand.
This marked the end of a remarkable international career that spanned 15 years. Virat, himeself, came up with a heartwarming reaction to Dhoni's retirement with a special Instagram post for his former captain.
2) Virat Kohli lost India captaincy
In September 2021, Kohli announced he would step down as India’s T20I captain after the T20 World Cup 2021, underlying the “immense workload” behind his move.
As a result, the BCCI stripped Kohli of the ODI captaincy, naming Rohit Sharma the new white-ball leader.
Also read: When Was The Last Time Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma Scored A Century In South Africa?
Kohli expressed his disappointment in a press conference, saying he had been told about his removal as ODI captain just 90 minutes before the selection meeting to pick the Test squad for South Africa.
Out of anger, Kohli stepped down as captain of India’s Test team, with immediate effect, a day after losing the Test series to South Africa 2-1.
3) Rahul Dravid's India coaching began
In November 2021, Rahul Dravid succeeded Ravi Shastri as head coach of the Indian cricket team.
Before that, Dravid was the director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru following four years as coach of India A and India Under-19.
Under him, the senior men’s cricket team won the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, ending India’s 11-year-long ICC trophy drought. Interestingly, the tournament turned out to be Kohli's and Rohit Sharma's last T20 World Cups as both legends announced retirement post winning.
4) India lost to Pakistan for the 1st time in the T20 World Cup (2021)
Pakistan secured their historic first-ever World Cup victory against India by winning by 10 wickets during a Super 12 match on October 24, 2021, at the Dubai International Stadium.
Pakistan had never beaten India in a World Cup game in 12 meetings before this fixture. India had enjoyed seven wins in 50-over and five in 20-over World Cups since their first meeting in 1992. Unfortunately, Virat Kohli was India's captain in this match.
5) 2 new teams (GT, LSG) were added to the IPL
Two new franchises, Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), joined the Indian Premier League in late 2021 for the 2022 edition.
Before 2022, the 2010 edition of the IPL also featured 10 teams, with Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala joining the tournament before both franchises were terminated.
The BCCI added two new teams after six years. In 2015, it added two teams - Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions - for the 2016 and 2017 editions as replacements for the then-suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals teams.
Gujarat Titans, who were the latest entrant in the league along with the Lucknow Super Giants, went on to win the IPL trophy even before Virat Kohli's RCB, who had been struggling to clinch the feat since IPL's inception in 2008.
Also read: Japan Players Who Can Be Troublemakers For India In One-Off T20I Match
