Virat Kohli achieves 99% control on tough Day 5 pitch, fans laud Indian captain's mastery

India captain Virat Kohli proved to be the only saving grace for the home team, as all the other batters, apart from Shubman Gill and Kohli, fell like nine pins against England's bowling attack at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday. The star batsman looked determined to play a big knock, however, he was ultimately undone by a delivery that kept a tad low. Virat Kohli looked unperturbed with the tricky pitch and showcased exemplary batsmanship under challenging conditions. 

India vs England 2021: Virat Kohli bats with 99% control against England bowlers 

With England having posted an imposing target of 420 in the Test series opener, the onus was on the Indian batsman to put together a strong show on the ultimate day of the Test match. The visitors bowled with great consistency and exploited the tricky pitch in order to get the better of Indian batsmen. Shubman Gill scored a resilient half-century at the top of the order, but it was the Indian captain who toiled hard in the middle to give the home side a glimmer of hope. 

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The 32-year-old played a gutsy knock of 72 from 104 deliveries. What caught the attention of the fans was that the player hardly played a false stroke in his innings. According to ESPNcricinfo, the star batter played with a control percentage of 99 against the formidable bowling attack. However, the player's efforts vent in vain as the Joe Root led-side ultimately clinched the first Test of the four-match series by 227 runs. 

Netizens appreciate skipper's lion-hearted knock 

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India vs England 2021: Joe Root stars for England as they claim a famous victory  

Playing in his 100th Test match, the prolific run-scorer batted exceedingly well and scored a fabulous double century to set the tone of the game. Joe Root crossed the 100-run mark for the third time in a row in the longer format, and his 218 helped England post a mammoth total of 578 in the first inning of the Test match. The visitors with their win also breached India's fortress and ended their 21-year-old unbeaten run at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium.

Virat Kohli centuries in international cricket 

Having made his international debut in 2008, the right-handed batsman has played 88 Tests, 251 ODIs, and 85 T20Is so far. He has registered 27 Test centuries and 43 ODI centuries. The Indian captain is currently the third-highest century-maker in international cricket after Sachin Tendulkar (100) and Ricky Ponting (71).

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Virat Kohli career stats in Tests 

The Virat Kohli career stats, especially in Test cricket, makes for a staggering read. Across 88 Test matches for India since his debut back in 2011, the cricketer has aggregated has 7,401 runs. His highest score remains the 254* he scored against South Africa in 2019. Kohli holds a prolific average of 53.24.

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Image source: BCCI Twitter