IND vs SL: Virat Kohli sweats it out in nets ahead of iconic 100th Test

After whitewashing Sri Lanka in the recently-concluded T20I series, India will now be hosting them in a two-match Test series starting March four, the first of which will be played at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. The match will be held behind closed doors. The contest marks the special occasion for two of the country’s modern-day batting greats Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

While Rohit will be leading the Indian team for the very first time in red-ball cricket, Kohli will be making his 100th Test appearance in the series-opener. At the same time, this will also be his first Test as non-captain having relinquished from the position after losing the away Test series against South Africa in January. Ahead of the memorable occasion, it was business as usual for the batting megastar as he hit the nets.

Virat Kohli makes the best use of net sessions in Mohali

Taking to the micro-blogging site, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had posted a few images on their official Twitter handle of the Indian team practicing ahead of the series opener. In a collage shared by the national cricket team, Kohli was seen sweating it out in the nets with his bat. In the other image, the former skipper is supposedly having a team discussion with the likes of Hanuma Vihari, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Agarwal, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, etc. In the final two images, pace spearhead Bumrah and senior offie Ravichandran Ashwin were seen involved in bowling practice.

T20Is ✅

Preps begin for the Tests 👍👍#TeamIndia | #INDvSL | @Paytm pic.twitter.com/SR1VkACfCW

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 1, 2022

Virat Kohli was originally supposed to play his 100th Test match during the series-deciding third Test against South Africa at Cape Town in January. However, an upper back spasm had forced him to miss the second game at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg as a result of which the current limited-overs vice-captain KL Rahul was named  India’s stand-in captain for that contest.

Even though fans will not be present to witness the iconic moment in Mohali, the 33-year-old  would be eager to make his bat do the talking as the wait for his 71st international century prolongs.