This story is from August 3, 2018

India vs England: Virat Kohli buries the ghost of past failures in England

Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli are poles apart when it comes to attitude and temperament, but this knock of the Indian captain reminded one of the Bangalore man's superb century in Lord's during the tour of 2011.
India vs England: Virat Kohli’s 22nd ton raises Indian hopes
Virat Kohli celebrates scoring a century at Edgbaston in Birmingham. (Reuters Photo)
Key Highlights
  • Virat Kohli scored a gritty 149 to rescue India and leave the first Test interestingly poised.
  • Kohli made England pay for dropping him twice with a maiden Test century on English soil.
  • Kohli's superb knock took India to 274 all out, just 13 runs short of England's 287.
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BIRMINGHAM: The wait, the humiliation, the hurt -- Virat Kohli has gone through a lot whenever England has come up for discussion. But finally on Thursday at Birmingham, the never-say-die batsman played one of his best innings ever to complete his first Test century in England and exorcise the ghost of 134 runs off 10 innings in 2014 that has haunted him for the last four years.

ALSO READ: Memorable ton by Virat Kohli lifts India on Day 2
There's a grudging admiration about the greatness of Kohli in these parts of the world. They don't like him for his in-your-face arrogance, but the Englishmen never think twice before praising his talent. When Kohli was dropped for the first time en route his 22nd century, Nasser Hussain, who was on air, said: "There goes the chance. Now see how much it costs."
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The former England captain was spot on. It did cost England as Kohli stood amidst the ruinous Indian batting on a pitch where the English pacers were extracting quite a bit of purchase. He stood outside the crease trying to negate the swing, played as late as possible and didn't mind taking the odd chance when there was one on offer.
Kohli

Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli are poles apart when it comes to attitude and temperament, but this knock of Kohli reminded one of the Bangalore man's superb century in Lord's in 2011. Dravid, despite being a proven performer in England, had gone to Lord's in 2011 without a century at the hallowed venue. He knew it was his last chance to score the ton and he reached that magic figure with the No. 11 in tow as India struggled in their first innings.

Captains

Kohli, on Thursday, brought back those memories. When the eighth wicket fell at 182, Kohli was still on 67. Ishant survived a couple of close leg-before shouts but it was Kohli who found the gaps with ease and kept closing in on the hundred. The fact that both James Anderson and Sam Curran, the two outstanding bowlers of the day, were tiring, helped him just a bit, but the Indian captain was alive to every opportunity that came his way.
And finally when the century happened with a push on the off-side that went to the boundary, there was an explosion of emotion. Kohli knew immediately that the 'failure in England' tag is off, once and for all. The world of cricket will now acknowledge him as a player who can score runs anywhere in the world. And in due course, it may make him sit on par with the all-time greats the game has ever seen.
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