Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli has made his 100th Test appearance, playing the Sri Lanka series-opener in Mohali where India has won the toss and elected to bat first.
Before Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal took the field to open the innings, the Indian camp had a small felicitation ceremony for Virat with coach Rahul Dravid, another member of the 100 Test club, gifted Virat with a special cap.
"It's a special moment for me," Kohli said after being gifted the cap.
"My wife is here with me, my brother is there in the stands. It's a team game and the journey wouldn't have been possible without you guys. Thanks to BCCI too. I couldn't have received it from a better person, my childhood hero. I still have that picture with you from my U-15 days," said Virat.
"It's a testament to everything. Your skill, desire, determination, focus, you had it all. You have had a great journey of class and excellence. You should be proud of not only playing the 100th Test match but also of this great journey that you have to navigate. Congratulations to you and your family on this fantastic achievement. It's well deserved, it's well earned. As we say in the dressing room, double it up," said Dravid before felicitating Kohli with a special Test cap with the entire Indian team lined up.
Kohli also spoke about how proud he is of achieving excellence in the longest format of the game. "The only thing I would say is in this day and age, with the amount of cricket we play -- the three formats and the IPL, the only takeaway the next generation can take from my Test career is that I was able to strive through and play the purest format of the game and get to 100 Tests which is something I'm proud of."
Kohli recalled an instance of him taking a picture with Dravid as a teenager and connected it with now receiving his 100th Test cap from him. "I couldn't have received it from a better person (Rahul Dravid), one of my childhood heroes. I still have the picture in my house from my U-15 NCA days, when I was looking at you while getting a picture with you! Today, I get my 100th Test cap from you, so indeed it has been a great journey and one that continues to grow hopefully."
Kohli made his Test debut against the West Indies in 2011, making just 4 and 15. But the low-key debut paved the path for achieving 7962 runs in 99 matches at an average of 50.39, including seven double centuries. For Kohli's 100th Test match, 50 per cent crowd has been allowed inside the stadium, giving fans a good chance to see him in action as India won the toss and elected to bat first.
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