Ricky Ponting - players.bio

Watch: Virat Kohli Celebrates In Special Fashion After Ending 1021-Day Century Drought

It was the end of a 1021-day wait. In those days, Virat Kohli, one of India's most prolific scorers ever in cricket, could not hit a century. Before that drought came, Kohli scored 70 tons in international cricket. The wait for the 71st was long but it has finally ended. Against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup on Thursday, Kohli ultimately finished of 122* off just 61 balls, which is the highest individual T20I score for India. He surpassed Rohit Sharma's 118 against Sri Lanka in Indore in 2017. He has also now equalled Ricky Ponting's mark of 71 international centuries. Only Sachin Tendulkar (100) has scored more tons than Kohli and Ponting in international cricket.

What surprised me was my 60s became failures: Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has set lofty standards for himself but after finally scoring his first hundred in 1020 days, the star India batter expressed surprise that the 60s he scored over the last couple of years were seen as his failures. Kohli on Thursday smashed 122 not out off 61 balls to get his maiden T20 hundred and help India register a huge 101-run win over Afghanistan in the inconsequential Asia Cup match here. "Today was the build of the last few games, I batted out of my skin to be honest and I surprised myself.

I was shocked, least expected to score ton in T20 format: Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli reached the elusive three-figure mark after almost three years, albeit in a format "he least expected to", when he struck a memorable 122 against Afghanistan in an inconsequential Asia Cup match on Thursday. Kohli scored his first international hundred after 989 days precisely to light-up the dead rubber. His 71st hundred also puts him alongside the great Ricky Ponting in the list of most centuries. Sachin Tendulkar is still way ahead with 100 international tons.

Virat Kohli Finally Ends Century Drought After Close To Three Years With Scintillating Knock vs Afghanistan

Virat Kohli finally ended a long wait, one which had started from November, 2019, when he last scored a century in international cricket. On Thursday, the wait of more than two years and nine months ended when the former Indian cricket team captain reached the triple-figure mark with six off Fareed Ahmad in the 19th over of the Asia Cup Super 4 match against Afghanistan. That shot meant that after almost three years, Kohli hit a ton - which was his 71st century across formats! With an authoritative pull shot against Fareed Ahmad's short ball, he cleared the deep mid-wicket boundary to reach the momentous mark.

Ricky Ponting names Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah in World T20 XI

World Cup winning captain Ricky Ponting has included India's Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah among his first five players for a World T20 playing eleven. Ponting reckons Pandya is arguably the best T20 all-rounder in the world while Bumrah is the most complete bowler across the three formats. "On current form, it's pretty hard to go past Hardik Pandya at number three.

Ricky Ponting Picks Two Indians In World T20I Top-5 List. It's Not Virat Kohli Or Rohit Sharma

The T20 World Cup is less than two months away and all the teams are gearing up for the mega-contest. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team is also getting ready for the contest with some top-level series, including the Asia Cup. India have not won any ICC title since the 2013 Champions Trophy, and all eyes would be on Rohit's side to end that drought. In the last few months, several Indian players have performed well in the T20 format, and Hardik Pandya features prominently among them. So, when Ricky Ponting was asked on 'The ICC Review'to name the top-five players that he would select while going for a World T20I team, Pandya was one of the first picks.

"Sounded Like He Found Himself In Quite A Dark Place": Ricky Ponting On Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli took a break from international cricket before returning to the Indian side for the Asia Cup 2022. He was rested for the tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe and the former India captain utilised the time to relax and shift his focus from cricket. Kohli has been struggling for runs in 2022 and the break must have helped him as he played a vital knock of 35 runs and finished as the joint-top scorer for India in the pressure match against Pakistan on Sunday and continued the uptick in his form with an unbeaten knock of 59 against Hong Kong.

Ponting backs Virat Kohli's month-long break from cricket

Ricky Ponting on Wednesday said Virat Kohli did the right thing by taking a month-long break from cricket. Following up his 35 against Pakistan in India's Asia Cup opener, former Indian skipper Kohli on Wednesday struck a fluent 44-ball 59 not out versus Hong Kong in Dubai, his first international half-century since a 52 against the West Indies in a T20I in Kolkata on February 18 this year. "I just hope that we see him back at his best and in the World Cup," the two-time World Cup winning skipper Ponting said on the 'ICC Review'.

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Watch: Virat Kohli Celebrates In Special Fashion After Ending 1021-Day Century Drought

What surprised me was my 60s became failures: Virat Kohli

I was shocked, least expected to score ton in T20 format: Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli Finally Ends Century Drought After Close To Three Years With Scintillating Knock vs Afghanistan

Ricky Ponting names Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah in World T20 XI

Ricky Ponting Picks Two Indians In World T20I Top-5 List. It's Not Virat Kohli Or Rohit Sharma

"Sounded Like He Found Himself In Quite A Dark Place": Ricky Ponting On Virat Kohli

Ponting backs Virat Kohli's month-long break from cricket