Kohli's 'Test'—a century to mark a 'century'

Mohali: Till the start of this week, the stands at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali were to be silent for the first Test between India and Sri Lanka starting from Friday. But with now 50% crowd being allowed into the stadium, the sounds of cheers and claps from the fans will be heard when Virat Kohli takes the field for his 100th Test, becoming the 12th Indian and 71st cricketer to achieve the landmark.

Friday's Test against Sri Lanka also marks Kohli's first appearance in Tests since leaving the captaincy after India lost 2-1 to South Africa in January. Though his returns with the bat (no century since November 2019) have invited concern and criticism in equal measure, there is no questioning that Kohli has been the backbone for India's batting for a very long time.

Though Kohli had a low-key Test debut in June 2011 against the West Indies in the backdrop of his stunning white-ball game, his desire to succeed and strive hard for excellence in the longest format of the game has resulted in him amassing 7962 runs in 99 matches at an average of 50.39, including seven double centuries. In his landmark Test, Kohli will be entering a new phase of his career: as the senior-most batter in the side with no demands of captaincy and chance to scale much greater peaks with a renewed mindset.

Kohli's landmark 100th Test also marks the start of Rohit Sharma's stint as the Test captain of India. The hosts haven't been on the losing side in home Tests since the 2-1 defeat to England in 2012 and will be hoping to extend their streak against a visiting Sri Lanka side. Apart from keeping the winning juggernaut rolling against Sri Lanka, India will have one eye on gaining some crucial World Test Championship (WTC) points, In the race to the final. India are in fifth place while Sri Lanka are the early topper of the table.

The start of Kohli's post-captaincy era in Tests also coincides with his successor Rohit Sharma starting his stint. After becoming a proven leader in white-ball matches for India with series wins over New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka apart from five IPL titles with Mumbai Indians, Sharma's latest challenge is to replicate the success in Test cricket. On the brink of embarking on a new challenge, Sharma was quick in acknowledging Kohli's contribution as Test captain.

"I am looking forward to just winning games as much as possible and doing the right things with the right players in the squad. That is the whole point. As a Test team, at the moment, we stand in a very good position. If you look at the last five years of our Test cricket, the whole credit goes to Virat himself to get us going in this particular format. What he has done with the Test team over the years was brilliant to see. For me, honestly, I have to just take it forward from where he left. The team stands in a very good position."

The series against Sri Lanka also marks the absence of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in India's middle-order. With Rahane and Pujara sent to Ranji Trophy for reclaiming form and rhythm, the series presents India an opportunity to the likes of Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari to claim the vacant spots in the middle-order. The trio had shown glimpses of their excellence in Test cricket and would look to show that in this Test too.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, come into the series against India on the back of a series win against the West Indies at home in 2021. But, after being blanked 3-0 in T20Is, comes the challenge to win a Test in the Indian conditions, which they are yet to achieve. But the motivation of playing in their 300th Test will spur them to do well.

They will be without the services of their star spinners Ramesh Mendis and Maheesh Theekshana. But the form of left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya, number three batter Pathum Nissanka and the skipper Dimuth Karunaratne will keep them in good spirits.

Karunaratne had confirmed that they will have seven batters with one spin and three seam options. Lahiru Thirimanne will open alongside Karunaratne with Nissanka at three and Niroshan Dickwella as the keeper.

Overall, with many entertaining subplots in the offing, expect India and Sri Lanka to play a more absorbing series with Kohli, Sharma and Indian batting order entering their respective new phases.

Squads: India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Saurabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain). Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Dhananjaya De Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella (wicket-keeper), Lasith Embuldeniya, Vishwa Fernando, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne and Jeffrey Vandersay.