India in Sri Lanka: Virat Kohli's 11th Ton Flattens Hosts in Galle

Virat Kohli continued his golden run in Test cricket, slamming his fifth hundred in six matches as India continued to dominate Sri Lanka on Day 2 in Galle. The Indian captain, who joined forces with Shikhar Dhawan late last evening on 28/2, took his time to settle down before unleashing a few of his trademark shorts to bring up his 11th ton off 187 balls. (Day 2 Blog)

However, Kohli fell soon after reaching his fourth hundred as Test captain, perishing to Tharindu Kaushal for 103. He shared a 227-run stand for the third wicket with Dhawan.

India had bowled Sri Lanka out for a paltry 183 thanks to Ravichandran Ashwin's 6/46 but then looked to be in a vulnerable spot when Lokesh Rahul and Rohit Sharma departed cheaply. However, Kohli, who has had a slump in ODIs and failed to sparkle in the one-off Test against Bangladesh in Fatullah, led from the front and was happy to be more cautious than aggressive on a pitch that offered substantial assistance to the spinners.

Kohli's form had been a bit of a concern leading into the series against Sri Lanka. After skipping the tour of Zimbabwe, the 26-year-old turned up for India A in a first-class match against Australia A but managed scores of 16 and 45. Kohli did not fare any better in India's warm-up game in Sri Lanka and was dismissed for scores of 8 and 18.

But known to be a big-match player, the Delhi dasher turned on the heat against Sri Lanka on a tricky Galle pitch and with Shikhar Dhawan, who smashed his 11th hundred, he sent the hosts on a wild leather chase. Batting for over 40 overs, the duo brought up their 150-run stand.

Kohli was in magnificent form against Australia in the four-Test series Down Under, smashing 692 runs at an average of 86.5, hammering four hundreds against Mitchell Johnson and Co.