Kohli’s timely brilliant century

2 Aug 2018 International Test Match Series First Spacesavers Test – Day 2 of 5 at Edgbaston

England 287 all out  off 89.4 ov, Joe Root 80 run out  off 156, 9 fours, Bairstow 70 off 88, 9 fours, Jennings 42 off 98, 4 fours, Ashwin 62-4; Shami 64-3, U Yadav 56 -1,  I Sharma 46-1

Second Innings

9-1 (3.4 ov ); Jennings 5 not out off 8 balls, 1 four, Ashwin 5-1

 India 274 all out off 76 ov; Virat Kohli 149 off 2215, 22 fours, 1 six, S Dhawan off 46, 3 fours, H Pandya 33 off 52, 3 fours, S Curran 74-4, Rashid 31-2, Stokes 73-2, Anderson 41-2.

England lead India by 22 runs with 9 wickets remaining.

Virat Kohli (29), India’s captain scored 149 on the second day of the first Test against England at Edgbaston, a brilliant century, his first-ever test century in England, 22nd overall, with all good fortune and odds stacked against him. On the previous day, a direct hit by Kohli runs Root out, and blows kisses and puts his fingers to his lips. Root’s “mic drop” come back to haunt him.

After the fall of India’s second wicket on Thursday morning, Kohli was down the dressing room steps and across the boundary ropes. With James Anderson swinging the ball, Kohli playing and missing, twice he was dropped by second slip Dawid Malan off Anderson first and Ben Stokes second. Once Kohli settled himself his trademarks appeared, in the form of cover drive, flick to fine leg, pinching singles. The first fifty was a battled between Kohli and the England bowlers, then the second was a battle between Kohli and his own tailenders when India lost eight-wicket  Kohli had 67 to his name.

England was all set for a comfortable lead, but everything that had gone before was forgotten, Ishant Sharma successfully overturned being given lbw to Anderson twice. Ishant saw Kohli to 97, then number 11 Umesh Yadav steps in to keep out two deliveries from Adil Rashid. Kohli versus stokes, crossed his hundred with a cut for four followed by screaming celebration and then a kiss for the wedding ring, now-wife Anushka Sharma and then a kiss for the face of the bat. What followed was a destruction of an England attack that had fielders in all parts of Birmingham stadium as India added another 53 runs to keep England lead a slim 13 runs.