Former captain Virat Kohli, who ended his century drought in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series decider between India and Australia, aimed to keep the mood light during the 2nd innings at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday. Kohli is known for his livewire performance on the field and wears his heart on his sleeve. On Day 5 of the 4th Test match between the two top-ranked teams, Kohli was caught making a sly comment to umpire Nitin Menon.
The incident occurred when Ravichandran Ashwin convinced skipper Rohit Sharma to review an on-song Travis Head’s LBW decision, who was closing in on his half-century in the 35th over. After the unsuccessful review, an animated Kohli teased umpire Menon, saying that the former Indian skipper would have been given out if he were the batter.
Kohli joked with umpire Menon, saying, “If I were the batter, I would have been out.” Menon smiled in response to Kohli’s lighthearted comment and even raised his finger in jest. This amusing interaction between the two quickly became a trending topic on social media. During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, netizens accused Menon of being “biased” towards Kohli.
During the 4th Test match between India and Australia in Ahmedabad, batting legend Kohli finally broke his century drought in the longest format on Day 4 of the series decider. With his first Test century since November 2019, Kohli helped India achieve a massive 1st innings total against Steve Smith and his team.
Kohli scored his 28th Test century, with an impressive 186-run knock that took India to a score of 571 in 178.5 overs. He completed his 75th international century in 241 balls, making it the second-slowest century of his Test career. Kohli’s slowest century (238 balls) was achieved against England in Nagpur in 2012.
Prior to Kohli’s remarkable innings in Ahmedabad, the former Indian captain had failed to score a century in 41 consecutive innings. Additionally, with eight centuries, Kohli shares the joint-second position on the list of players with the most centuries in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He is only surpassed by Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who holds the record for registering nine centuries against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.