Virat Kohli will look to get over the drought of three-figure against England: Sanjay Bangar

Scoring centuries seemed to be a bread and butter task for Virat Kohli once. However, things changed after November 2019 as the Indian captain hasn’t reached the three-figure mark even since that period. Notably, Kohli has also not been at this prime in this duration. In the recently-concluded ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand, the talismanic batsman registered scores of 44 and 13 as India lost the contest by eight wickets and subsequently fell short of the title.

Kohli certainly looked impressive in the first innings but couldn’t convert his start into a big knock, like he used to. Addressing the issue, former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar opined that the drought of three-figure might be playing in the Indian captain’s mind. Highlighting his Test record, Bangar also went on to laud Kohli’s passion for the purest format. However, the former cricketer believes that the much-awaited ton might be containing the star batsman.

Sanjay Bangar hails  Virat Kohli’s love for Test cricket

“He has already scored close to 7,500 Test runs, and this is a format, where he just simply gives it his all. In modern times, because there are no dead rubbers, every Test match is valued. This means that whatever is on offer – from a batting perspective – is always challenging for the batsman,” Bangar said on Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected.

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“So, to excel in each and every Test match, and obviously, to get over the drought of the three-figure – which may have been playing on his mind – I think this is something that he would look ahead to. The way he batted in the first innings was a clear indication of the kind of touch and the kind of rhythm he was in. So, I think it augurs well for the Indian team,” he added.

Kohli, 32, currently has 70 international centuries under his belt. He’s also the front-runner to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 100 international tons. However, it has been a while since Kohli has reached the milestone and he would like to end the drought soon, as said by Sanjay Bangar. The veteran batsman would currently be gearing up for India’s five-match Test series against hosts England, which gets underway on August 4.