The stage was set for Virat Kohli. It was his 100th Test. He was long due for a hundred, close to two and half years to be precise. There was a massive build up with the who's who of Indian cricket sending in their best wishes. The former India captain was presented a special cap by head coach Rahul Dravid minutes before the first Test against Sri Lanka in a short felicitation ceremony in the presence of the Indian squad. It didn't take long for Kohli get into business. When Mayank Agarwal was trapped in front by Lasith Embuldeniya, Kohli didn't even wait for the India opener to make his way towards the dressing room. He charged in. He meant business.
Kohli started off in an unlikely fashion by trying to flick Embuldeniya against the turn but since then he was as solid as ever. The straight drive a couple of overs later confirmed it. The stars were aligning. The anticipation from the crowd started to grow after lunch as Kohli started to dominate the Sri Lanka bowlers but Embuldeniya produced a moment of brilliance in the 44th over to bring a heartbreaking and premature end to Kohli's innings.
The prolific right-hander, who had played the left-arm spinner majorly off the front foot till, played for the trajectory this time around by rocking back and was foxed. The ball landed on a bare patch and spun past Kohli's bat to clip the off stump.
Watch: Sri Lanka's Lasith Embuldeniya Virat Kohli With A Beauty, Spoils 100th Test Party
Kohli had a look of disbelief on his face before starting the slow walk back to the pavilion for 45. He was stunned by the delivery and perhaps more so for missing out on yet another opportunity to put an end to the long wait for an international century.
During his short but solid knock, Kohli also went past 8000 Test runs becoming only the sixth Indian batter after Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman.
Kohli in his 169th innings, is also the fifth-fastest from the country to reach the landmark behind Sachin Tendulkar (154 innings), Rahul Dravid (158 innings) Virender Sehwag (160 innings) and Sunil Gavaskar (166 innings).