Asia Cup 2022: Virat Kohli ends century drought as he helps India finish the competition on a high

Virat Kohli ends century drought – Yes! Virat Kohli ends century drought after 33 Months, 146 Weeks, 1020 Days, 24,477 Hrs, 1,468,624 Minutes, 88,117,453 Seconds Wait Time To See This Century – That’s his maiden Century in T20I.

The wait for Sachin’s 100th century and the wait for Kohli’s 71st century both ended in the Asia Cup. Amazing!!.

India brushed aside Afghanistan in the fifth match of the super four stage of the Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. On the back of Virat Kohli’s maiden T20I century, the Indian side defeated the Afghan side comprehensively to finish the competition on a high.

The King 👑 is Back #ViratKohli #ViratKohli𓃵 pic.twitter.com/7mpg33Ku70

— CriiicWorld 🏆🏏 (@Criiicworld) September 8, 2022

Afghan skipper Mohammad Nabi won the toss and opted to bowl first. The decision backfired as Indian openers in KL Rahul and Virat Kohli got off to a fantastic start. They played aggressively in the powerplay and put 52 between them at the end of it. Both Rahul and Kohli brought up their fifties and never allowed the Afghan bowlers to settle in.

Indian fans are looking for Rashid Latif, a former Pakistan cricketer spoke against Virat Kohli and said that he has never been a good T20 player. #RashidLatif #ViratKohli #Pakistan #AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/coFiTfxyb6

— CriiicWorld 🏆🏏 (@Criiicworld) September 8, 2022

Rahul departed on 62 in the 13^th over. Suryakumar Yadav fell in the same over but Kohli teed off at the other end. He displayed a batting masterclass as he ended his century drought as he brought up his 71^st International century. He remained unbeaten on 122 off just 61 balls as he powered his side to 212 at the end of 20 overs. Kohli hit 12 fours and 6 maximums in his sensational knock.

It was always going to be a daunting task to chase down this mammoth total against this Indian bowling attack. Bhuvneshwar Kumar wreaked havoc in the Afghan camp as he ran through the batting lineup. The Afghan side lost half of their side inside the powerplay with 21 on the board.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar #Bhuvi on Fire.. 5-4 (4 Overs) vs AFG#AsiaCup2022 #T20WorldCup2022 #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/ec3G2tIawA

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The game was lost in the powerplay itself as none of the batters got going. Ibrahim Zadran tried hard and remained unbeaten on 64 off 59 balls but lacked support from the other end as they finished their innings on 111/8, losing the game by 101 runs. Bhuvneshwar picked up a fifer and conceded only four runs in his quota of four overs, which included a maiden.

Afghanistan remain winless in the super four stage of the Asia Cup 2022

Afghanistan qualified to the super fours on the back of two convincing wins in the group stages. They failed to emulate their performance in the super four stage of the Asia Cup 2022 as they failed to win a single game. They were outplayed by India in their last game and will hope that they get their combination right ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup later this year.

India, meanwhile, got knocked out of the competition after losing their first two games of the super stage. They hoped to finish on a high and they stepped up and displayed an outstanding all-round show to beat Afghanistan comprehensively. They will be a bit disappointed with their campaign in the Asia Cup 2022.

Player of the Match

Virat Kohli grabbed the Player of the Match award for his blistering knock of 122* off 61 balls.

Firstly I am grateful for how the day went today. Time away from the game gave me a good chance to sit back and observe a lot of things about me. I mentioned one special person – Anushka – who stood by me through these tough times and I mentioned her as she has seen the absolute raw side of me throughout all these months.

– Virat Kohli

Coming back after a big injury and surgery, I have realised playing the last few games it is not as easy as you think. I was eager to come and play but obviously finding the same touch or same rhythm wasn’t coming easily as I thought it would.

– KL Rahul, India Skipper