Mohali Test: A Day In Nets For 'Centurion' Virat Kohli and 'Captain' Rohit Sharma

Two men at the peak of their careers and separated by a year. Supremely successful, insanely wealthy, and achievers in their own right with manic followers growing exponentially with each passing day. But 48 hours before Virat Kohli gears up to play his landmark 100th Test and Rohit Sharma walks out from the PCA Stadium pavilion in a navy blue India blazer for the first time, they simply looked like two men possessed and intensely focussed to make their milestone moment special. While social media went into a frenzy before BCCI allowed crowd for the momentous occasion, there were not even 10 people around when the Indian team bus entered the stadium premises on Wednesday.

Yes, there are billboards and cut-outs around the stadium but how many people will turn up on a warm Friday morning when India open a two-match series against Sri Lanka could be anybody's guess -- crowd allowed or not.

Inside the cauldron were two men-- one aged 34, who has basically turned the corner in traditional format in such a whirlwind fashion that he has now become the undisputed leader of men, making a mockery of perceptions.

Rohit Sharma, in his own way, proved that perceptions are just that "perceptions".

One could even imagine that wry smile for all those who thought that he is just another white-ball bully.

Within a few yards of him was a mega-star, who is best described as a Test cricket devotee. Ian Chappell recently urged Kohli to take the lead in saving Test cricket.

Not more than 20 odd people were witness to what an intense practice session looks like where the two stars took multiple turns to bat various nets -- throwdowns, spinners, pacers, and net bowlers.

If Rohit would tuck Shami off his hips, Virat would bring the cover drive