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Updated September 13th, 2022 at 20:24 IST

Virat Kohli joins Ronaldo and LeBron James in elite club of athletes with latest feat

33-year-old Virat Kohli scored his first ton since 2019 and also achieved another feat that has seen him join the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James.

Reported by: Vidit Dhawan
Virat Kohli and Cristiano Ronaldo
Image: AP | Image:self
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Despite all the struggles over the past year, former Team India captain Virat Kohli seems to have rediscovered his form after ending as Asia Cup 2022's second-highest scorer with 276 runs in five matches. While the 33-year-old received several plaudits for his special performances at the continental competition, he also achieved another feat that has seen him join the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James.

Kohli joins Ronaldo & LeBron in a special club

While Virat Kohli is already the most followed Indian on social media, his recent performance at the Asia Cup 2022 competition has seen his numbers of followers increase significantly. The former Team India skipper is the first cricketer to have 50 million or more followers on Twitter. And that is not it, as he is also the only cricketer to have 200 million followers on Instagram.

His recent increase in popularity places him alongside five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and NBA star LeBron James as few of the only sportspersons who have 50 million or more followers on Twitter. Ronaldo, who is the most followed athlete across all social media platforms, has over 103 million followers on Twitter. Meanwhile, James has over 52 million followers on the microblogging website.

Kohli delighted to finally score 71st international ton

Virat Kohli, who ended his two-and-a-half-year drought of not scoring in triple figures across any format, finally brought up his 71st international century against Afghanistan in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022. The 33-year-old smacked 122 runs off just 61 deliveries, thereby showing glimpses of his old self. Team India will hope that Kohli can carry on this form heading into the all-important T20 World Cup that begins next month.

Speaking of the struggles over the past two years, Kohli said (as quoted by PTI), "Last two and a half years have taught me a lot. I am going to turn 34 in a month. So those angry celebrations are a thing of the past. Actually, I was shocked. This is the last format I thought (I would score a century). It was an accumulation of a lot of things. The team has been open and helpful."

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Published September 13th, 2022 at 20:08 IST

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