Picture Credit: Twitter
Virat Kohli once again fell short of his 71st international century as he scored 79 off 201 balls in the first innings of the 3rd Test against South Africa. Although he probably played one of the best Test innings of his life, Kohli fans would have loved to see him reach three figures. So would have felt the time-traveller Jofra Archer. While everyone was busy praising Kohli for his gutsy knock hoping for a century soon, Archer saw it coming way back in 2013.
Jofra Archer's old tweets are often connected to recent events and the same happened when Kohli missed on his century. The England pacer's seven-year-old tweet started trending as soon as Kohli fell on the cusp of Day 1 Stumps.
In the tweet, Archer had written, "Got to score a ton somehow". This sentence pretty much summed up the emotion of Kohli fans who have been wanting to see the Indian Test captain score a century ever since. The D-day finally seemed to come to an end as Kohli looked formidable against the South Africa bowlers. The stylish batter put on an exhibition of patience and grit as he scored his second slowest half-century in Tests. The Indian captain was slowly but steadily building his innings and the much-awaited 71st century looked not so far.
However, like every time in the past two years, Kohli fell. But this time it was not him who was at fault but the situation and, to some extent, his teammates. Virat Kohli was looking determined and focused right from the start of his innings to end the drought but found very little or no support from the other end. And, in the end, he perished, searching for quick runs for his team.
Also Read: What made Virat Kohli score 79 runs off 201 balls on Day 1 in Cape Town?
Kohli left his ego in his kitbag: Gautam Gambhir
While everyone rued Kohli missing on a century yet again, the batter received a lot of praise as well. Everyone from fans to former cricketers heaped praise on the Indian captain for his gritty in such tough conditions. Former India opener Gautam Gambhir also shared his thoughts on Kohli's knock of 79 and remembered a quote about 'leaving one's ego behind while playing in England' from Kohli himself.
"Virat has said many times that when you go to England, you should leave behind your ego in India. Today, Virat Kohli left behind his ego in the kit bag and this knock reminds me of his very successful tour of England, where he got beaten many times but left a lot of deliveries outside off-stump," said Gambhir while reviewing the first day's play on Star Sports.