Dominant Kohli ends a long century drought, puts India firmly in control

Axar forges a 162-run stand off just 216 balls with the former skipper for the seventh wicket to make sure the home side takes the lead; injured Shreyas fails to come out to bat, so also Khawaja

The celebrations were subdued. Virat Kohli took off his helmet, raised the bat and kissed the wedding ring dangling from a chain around his neck after he flicked a Nathan Lyon delivery for a single and reached his 28th Test century (186, 364b, 15x4) — the first since November 23, 2019.

As the crowd chanted his name at the Narendra Modi Stadium throughout on Sunday, Kohli flexed his muscles to guide India to 571 for nine in the first innings.

Though he would be disappointed to have missed out on a double-century, by just 14 runs, after holing out to Marnus Labuschagne at deep mid-wicket off Todd Murphy, Kohli dominated the fourth day, putting India in firm control of the game.

It took the erstwhile India captain 1,205 days to reach a ton since scoring his last against Bangladesh in the pink-ball Test in Kolkata.

Coming into the series-deciding fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with scores of 12, 44, 20, 22 and 13, Kohli, who felt slightly feverish after the third day, put his head down, batted for 516 minutes and went on to break the century-jinx in 241 balls.

He forged a 162-run stand off just 216 balls with Axar Patel (79, 113b, 5x4, 4x6) for the seventh wicket to make sure the home side took the much-needed lead. Axar scored 84 and 74 in the first two Tests, and coming in at a time when Kohli needed a partnership, he complemented the batting ace with five fours and four sixes.

Kohli held fort, while Axar accelerated the strike, in an indication that the lead could extend up to 150 or 160. However, he dragged a Mitchell Starc delivery onto his stumps and soon after his dismissal, India lost R. Ashwin and Umesh Yadav in quick succession.