Kohli ends long wait for Test century

Virat Kohli came out to bat on Saturday's third day with just one over left before the tea break. He got to face four deliveries from Nathan Lyon and could have fallen to any of the last three. An inside edge off the second ball he faced fell short of short-leg, the second one went perilously past his outside edge and an edge off the third fell in front of slip.

Having been dismissed in bizarre fashion more than once during his long phase of struggle, Kohli needed the rub of the green to go his way. He had ended his drought of international centuries with his maiden T20I ton against Afghanistan in the UAE during the Asia Cup last September, but a Test hundred remained elusive.

The former skipper had nicely warmed up for the Australia Test series with two hundreds in three ODIs against the visiting Sri Lankans in January, but a combination of dodgy pitches and his own travails against the turning ball meant he stayed stuck on Test century No. 27, which came in November 2019 during the D/N Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata.

At least on two occasions in the ongoing series -- in New Delhi and Indore -- the much-anticipated big one from Kohli appeared just around the corner, thanks to the sheer quality of his batting, but fate had a familiar tale to narrate. He would fall against the run of play.

Read | Kohli's Ahmedabad ton reminiscent of Tendulkar's disciplined 241 at Sydney

He wasn't to be denied on this day, though. Not when he was looking assured after those three balls, each of which appeared to have his wicket against them. Not when he had decided to swallow his ego and shun his swagger. Not when he was determined to play the most un-Kohliesque innings since his 295-ball 103 against England in Nagpur in 2012 on a similarly sluggish surface. And certainly not when three tons had been scored on the first three days of this Test as opposed to just one in the previous three Tests of the series. It was as if the stars had aligned for the moment.

The moment arrived on the last ball of the 139th over when Kohli worked Lyon past short leg – nice symmetry that -- to move to 100 (241b, 5x4) -- three years and three months after his 136 in November 2019.

Though the Australians tested his patience with a lid on the scoring rate, Kohli was resolute enough to play the waiting game. It was the game he needed to embrace as much for himself as for the team, for India were still not out of danger.

Even when KS Bharat, fresh at the crease, pulled off a couple of sixes, Kohli resisted the temptation. Overnight 59, he collected 29 runs in 92 balls in the first session. His first four of the day came off the 123rd ball he faced and 163 balls after his fifth, which came the previous day.

It was as much a battle of attrition as it was a game of chess. Australia and Kohli, long-time rivals, waited to see who blinked first. The Kohli of the not-too-distant-past might have, but not the 34-year-old senior statesman who has gone through more in the last three years than most would in an entire lifetime.

He resigned as T20I captain on the back of talks that he could be asked to quit as white-ball captain. Soon, he was removed as the skipper in the 50-over format and relinquished Test captaincy following a 1-2 series defeat against South Africa last January in a complete leadership transfer process.

Accustomed to his theatrics through the ubiquitous "Kohli-cam", it was unusual to see him standing alone on the ropes without the accompanying antics. Not for nothing do they say that cricket is a great leveler. Kohli's place as a modern-day great is secure but even the greats have to perform to justify their continuance within a team set-up.

Kohli finally has, with a century which may not rank as one of his best in terms of aesthetics or sheer dominance. But context-wise, both personally and from the team's point of view, this has to be one of his most significant innings.