Sunil Gavaskar has said that every Indian fan wants a Virat Kohli 100th century, and he believes teammates should help him get there when the chance comes. The former India captain wrote in his Mid-Day column that Kohli’s dismissal for 74 in the first ODI against New Zealand in Auckland had spared Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer an awkward choice. Kohli is on 86 international centuries, 14 short of Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 100, and he now plays only ODI cricket.
Kohli made 74 off 51 balls at Eden Park on 4 November, and India won by five wickets after New Zealand were bowled out for 185 in 40.2 overs. Gill had chosen to field after winning the toss, and the target was reduced after a stoppage of play during the chase. Kohli raced past his fifty, and his chance of another hundred grew tighter as the target came down. He was out in the 70s, and India finished the chase without him. The innings kept the wait for a Virat Kohli 100th century going.
Virat Kohli 100th century and the Auckland innings
Gavaskar wrote that Gill and Iyer had faced a tough call on how to pace their innings with Kohli batting at the other end. “Kohli got out in the 70s. Gill and Iyer were thus spared any blowback if the winning runs had been hit with Kohli unbeaten in the 90s,” he wrote. “Yes, it’s a team game, but it’s also good for the team if one of its members, especially a star player, gets to a personal milestone without affecting the team’s chances of winning.” The column treats a Virat Kohli 100th century as a team aim, not a personal one.
Gavaskar made no secret of his wish to see a Virat Kohli 100th century. “There is not a single Indian cricket fan who does not want Kohli to get to 100 international centuries,” he wrote. He added that if a teammate gives up his own runs to let Kohli reach the mark, the glory will belong to all Indian cricket fans as well as Kohli. The lines show how much the milestone means to fans who have followed Kohli since his debut.
What Gavaskar wrote about the chase
Kohli’s recent form gives the hope some weight. He made two hundreds in the three-match ODI series against South Africa, 135 in Ranchi and 102 in Raipur, and he took his tally to 84 international centuries at the time. Gavaskar backed him then too, saying on JioStar that three more years at that rate would be enough. “Why not? Even if he plays for three more years, he needs 16 hundreds from here,” he said. The two hundreds in South Africa moved the Virat Kohli 100th century chase closer.
The numbers behind a Virat Kohli 100th century
The arithmetic is simple, and it is also unforgiving. Kohli needs 14 more hundreds for a Virat Kohli 100th century, and he plays only one-day cricket for India now. The five-match series against New Zealand gives him three more innings after the first two, with the third ODI in Hamilton on Tuesday, 10 November. India lead the series 2-0 after the second ODI in Wellington, where New Zealand made 134 and India won by four runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, with Kohli out for seven.
Whether the hundred comes in this series or later, Gavaskar’s column makes the point that the team should not treat the milestone as a distraction. He wrote that a personal landmark can sit alongside the team’s aims, and that a teammate who helps Kohli reach it shares in the moment. Gavaskar has followed Kohli’s career since his debut, and his column carries weight with Indian fans. For now, Kohli’s next chance comes in Hamilton, where India can seal the series with a win. The wait for a Virat Kohli 100th century goes on, and the crowd in Hamilton will know what is at stake.