• Source:JND
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JE Sports Desk: India star batter Virat Kohli has been enjoying decent form with the bat and played a 76-run knock in the first Test against West Indies in Dominica. He missed out of the century which could have ended his overseas three-figure mark drought in the red-ball cricket.

Kohli contributed 14 and 49 in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia at The Oval last month after finishing the Indian Premier League (IPL) season with 639 runs including two centuries and six fifties.

Earlier this year, Kohli ended his Test century drought when he smashed 186 in the fourth Test against Australia in Ahmedabad. However, his last overseas Test century came in Perth in 2018. He scored 123 in the second Test of the tour which India claimed 2-1.

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India batting coach Vikram Rathour explained that in the last five years which former skipper failed to get an overseas Test century also includes two years that were affected by COVID-19.

“His (Kohli’s) good form went for a really long time, nearly kept scoring for nine years. Cricket logic tells us that the lean phase was on the horizon. His good phase lasted a really long time and if there’s a loss of momentum, it will last for some time," said Rathour on Sunday.

“The five years he hasn’t scored a century (overseas), three of them we were dealing with Covid. So there weren’t enough games, restrictions. So there’s not much to look into it," he added.

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The veteran cricketer believes that Kohli's hundred is 'inevitable' as he is batting very dominantly.

“He’s batting really well and as batting coach I believe in adaptability. He’s an aggressive player, tries to dominate but a good player is someone who can change his game as per conditions and the team’s requirements. That is Virat’s biggest quality. He can play different formats differently, he has shown it in the past," the former India selector said.

“By the time he came to bat, the wicket had started offering more turn and bounce. The way he defended against left-arm spinner, I think it was a lesson for youngsters on how to play when the ball is going away from you. It was extremely good. 100 is inevitable the way he’s playing," said Rathour.

India lead the two-match Test series by 1-0 and will face West Indies in the second Test at Port of Spain from Thursday, July 19.