Kohli ends drought with his maiden T20 international ton as India win big

Virat Kohli hit his first international century since November 2019 with a maiden T20 ton for India to lead the team's 101-run thrashing of Afghanistan in the Asia Cup on Thursday.

The star batsman stood unbeaten on 122 off 61 deliveries to power India to 212-2 in Dubai after being put into bat first in their last Super Four match following their elimination from the tournament.

Seam bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar then returned his T20 best of five wickets for four runs to help limit Afghanistan to 111-8 with Ibrahim Zadran unbeaten on 64.

But the day belonged to Kohli, who hit a four and a six off pace bowler Fareed Ahmad to reach his first India ton in nearly three years -- his last hundred coming in a Test against Bangladesh.

His previous best in 103 T20Is was 94 not out since his debut in 2010.

"The last two and a half years have taught me a lot. I am going to turn 34 in a month," Kohli told Star Sports after his knock.

He celebrated with a wave of the bat and smile and said: "So those angry celebrations are a thing of the past. Actually I was shocked. This is the last format I thought (of scoring a century). It was an accumulation of a lot of things."

Kohli recently spoke about his mental struggles and how he took a month off ahead of this Asia Cup to get back his intensity, which he "faked" during the dry run of form.

"The team has been open and helpful. I know there was a lot of stuff going outside," he said.

"Six weeks off I was refreshed. I realised how tired I was. Competitiveness doesn't allow it, but this break allowed me enjoy the game again."

Called "King Kohli", he put on an opening stand of 119 with KL Rahul, who made 62, to lay the foundations of the mammoth total as the Afghan bowlers struggled on their second