It had been 1020 days and 83 innings that Kohli hadn’t scored a hundred. For someone who had already scored 70 international centuries, it was certainly something unusual.
The spell ended on September 8, 2022, during the Asia Cup Super 4 match against Afghanistan in Dubai.Kohli, who looked to be regaining his touch in the tournament’s previous matches, finally silenced his doubters with a hundred.
Opening the innings for India, which was only incidental because of the absence of Rohit Sharma, Kohli capitalized on the opportunity and played a masterly knock of 122 of a mere 61 balls, decorated with 12 fours and 6 sixes.
It was also Kohli’s first century in T20Is and 71st across formats internationally.
Prior to this, his last century had come in a Test match against Bangladesh in November 2019.
Kohli’s unbeaten knock propelled India to an imposing total of 212 for 2, a target that proved insurmountable for Afghanistan.
Brief Scorecard: India 212 for 2 (Kohli 122*, KL Rahul 62; Fareed Ahmad 2 for 57) beat Afghanistan 111 for 8 (Ibrahim Zadran 64*; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5 for 4) by 101 runs