Kohli has scored many 70-run innings but hasn’t reached the elusive three-figure barrier since November 2019. It has been over 27 months since Virat Kohli last hit a century. The colossal hitter last reached his 70th century during India’s maiden pink-ball Test in November 2019. Perhaps even world cricket in 2020 saw a brief epidemic break, but Kohli’s 71st century will go on for eons. Despite the batter’s particular difficulty, international cricket has advanced by leaps and bounds. A fantastic deal has changed in the sport. So, in this list, let’s look at what has changed since Virat Kohli’s previous international ton.
1. Pakistan defeated India for the first time in World Cup history.
Pakistan had lost a total of 12 World Cup games before their first victory over India. Since their World Cup debut in 1992, the men in green have suffered seven and five defeats in 50 and 20 World Cup matches, respectively. Captain Babar Azam and his players, on the other hand, left no stone untouched in their efforts to reverse their sad record in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Pakistan topped the group 2 standings after crushing India by a massive margin. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam also easily emerged as the tournament’s top three highest scorers. In fact, defeating New Zealand so soon after their archrivals cemented Pakistan’s position as hot favorites. Overall, despite the fact that skipper Kohli’s 57 runs were the largest impediment, Pakistan easily won. Nonetheless, the same bitter pill was taken after Australia won the semi-final match.
2. For the first time, Australia won the T20 World Cup.
Well, prior to winning the 2021 World T20, the Australians were severely lacking in the elusive T20I jewel. Only the smallest format’s gem was missing from its Kohinoor-style cabinet. However, by beating their neighbors (New Zealand), Captain Finch cemented his place among the greatest Australian captains. Perhaps Australia had to experience a wild voyage in order to achieve such great prosperity. The men in yellow lost five consecutive T20I series before the World Cup. Even their top dogs, like David Warner, were not in great shape heading into the huge tournament. Overall, the Australian men’s cricket team now has 8 trophies in total, and they will be overjoyed to have finally won the missing trophy in their cabinet.
3. Ravi Ashwin returned to white-ball cricket.
Ravi Ashwin was dropped from white-ball matches following the 2017 Champions Trophy, while the wrist-spinning combo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav emerged. Despite his impressive IPL performance, the veteran cricketer was not selected for the limited-overs squad. When Washington Sundar was unavailable, though, the 34-year-old made a pleasing comeback from the 2021 T20 World Cup. Though Ashwin had to start behind the likes of Varun Chakravarthy at first, he’s already established himself as an important cog in India’s T20I spin department. In terms of providing breakthroughs, Ashwin has taken 6 wickets in his last four T20Is. Overall, we hope that like this old master, King Kohli’s usual services of hitting centuries continue soon.
Stay tuned with IWMBUZZ for more updates.