Star India batter Virat Kohli slams 29th Test century

PORT OF SPAIN: Star India batter Virat Kohli on Friday slammed his 29th Test century to end his five-year drought for a hundred in an overseas red-ball match, in his 500th international appearance on Day 2 of the second Test against West Indies at the Queen's Park Oval, here.

Resuming the innings on 87 on day two, Kohli gracefully notched his 29th Test century by hitting a boundary off Shannon Gabriel.

Kohli's flawless hundred took his tally of Test hundreds on par with Sir Donald Bradman, who had scored 29 centuries in 52 Tests.

The 34-year-old was in pristine touch in the opening Test too, but fell for 76 then, missing out on a deserved milestone. Here, he carried from where he left off, playing some crunching drives and flicks to make a fine hundred.

After making four away hundreds in 2018 when India was on tour in Australia, Kohli had to wait quite a while and this century is his first outside India in Tests since then. His last overseas Test ton came in Perth in 2018.

It is his second century in the Caribbean Islands with his first converted into a double hundred back in 2016 in North Sound.

With 29 Test tons to his name, Kohli also went past Kane Williamson's tally of 28 hundreds and has the third-most Test hundreds among active cricketers after Steve Smith (32) and Joe Root (30).

India were comfortably placed at 373 for 6 going into lunch.

Kohli, who missed out on a hundred in the previous Test, made a polished 121 in 206 balls, his 29th in the longest format while adding 159 runs for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (61 off 152 balls).

Both were dismissed in quick succession as Kohli fell short of his crease and West Indies' best bowler Kemar Roach (2/86 in 19 overs) accounted for Jadeja.

India were 393 after 114 overs losing 7 wickets in the 2nd session. Ishan Kishan went back at 25. R Ashwin (18) was at the crease with Jaydev Unadkat. Agencies

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