Virat Kohli, the standout batsman for Team India, broke the international century drought by scoring three figures against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup Super 4 game in Dubai. In keeping with his stellar run of form since his return to Team India in the regional event, Kohli achieved his century in just 53 balls. Kohli has already hit two fifty-scores in the Asia Cup (59* against Hong Kong and 60 against Pakistan) prior to his century knock.
In November 2019 against Bangladesh, Kohli scored his last century in international cricket after going a thousand days without doing so. With the century against Afghanistan, Kohli matched Australian batting legend Ricky Ponting's record of 71 international centuries. The only person who still stands ahead of the former India captain is Sachin Tendulkar (100 international hundreds).
Kohli and acting captain KL Rahul began the innings in the match against Afghanistan because Rohit Sharma was granted a break. The last time Kohli played as the opener in a T20I was in March 2021, when he and Rohit put up an outstanding 94-run stand. This time, the former Indian captain had an even better performance as he put on a 119-run partnership with Rahul, who also produced a much-needed half-century (62 off 40 deliveries).