IND vs SL: Virat Kohli hits nets in Mohali ahead of milestone 100th Test

Virat Kohli, who is soon to play his 100th Test for India, is all set and raring to go, with him hitting the nets in Mohali. The former Indian captain walked out onto the IS Bindra PCA grounds for his practice session with other Indian cricketers in Ravichandran Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, and Mohammad Shami amongst a few others surrounding him.

Kohli who is all set to play the landmark Test against Sri Lanka in Mohali on March 4th had recently opted out of the three-match T20I series against the same opposition. He also skipped the final T20I vs West Indies after being given a 10-day rest by the BCCI. The star Indian batter was seen having a light-hearted chatter with wicket-keeper batter, Pant, before taking up some throw downs from the support staff in a net session that lasted close to 30 mins.

Virat Kohli’s 100th Test to be played behind closed doors

As Virat Kohli gears for his 100th Test match outing, it is disappointing, to say the least, that the modern-day great would be playing the all-important game with no crowd in attendance owing to Covid restrictions. Speaking about the same, the Punjab Cricket Association’s (PCA) CEO, Deepak Sharma, said it was the BCCI’s decision to hold the match behind closed doors due to the pandemic.

“It was BCCI’s directive to let the match take place behind closed doors due to the pandemic and also due to the less time at hand. We were to organise a T20 and the second Test earlier, but then the schedule changed,” Stated Sharma as quoted by HT.

However, the PCA has put up hoardings for Kohli’s 100th Test match along the roads leading to the ground. There is a lot of anticipation amongst the fans ahead of the game as they hope to see the right-handed batter come good. Notably, the 33-year has not scored an international century for over two years and this could well be the perfect occasion for him to rectify that. He is also only 38 runs short of 8000 Test runs.

Rohit Sharma would be leading India in the two-match Test series after Kohli resigned from the position post the recently concluded Test series against South Africa.