India skipper Virat Kohli and the elegant opening batsman Murali Vijay have carried on their scintillating batting form from Nagpur to the national capital Delhi in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka. The duo put on an exhibition as they shared a mammoth 283-run stand for the third wicket, with Kohli notching up his 20th Test ton and Vijay amassing his 11th.
After winning the toss in a hazy Feroz Shah Kotla, Indian captain Virat Kohli without any hesitation opted to bat first. The hosts lost their first wicket at 42 in the form of Shikhar Dhawan, who was making his comeback after missing the second Test owing to personal reason. The seasoned campaigner and the centurion of the last match Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t do much either on this occasion as the right-hander perished for just 23 with India reducing to 78-2 in 20.2 overs.
Double centurion of the last match Virat Kohli then gave Murali Vijay the company for the third wicket and that’s where the misery for Sri Lankan bowlers started. Both Kohli and Vijay looked in full flow from the outset and were competing with each other with their dazzling stroke play. While Vijay (155) fell at the fag end of the day, Kohli remained unbeaten on 156 as India piled up 371-4 in the 90 overs of Day 1.
Watch: Virat Kohli fired-up after completing his 18th Test century
Twitterverse went crazy seeing the high-quality batsmanship of Kohli and Vijay. Some of the former and contemporary cricketers were simply in awe to see the way both the batters were making look batting effortless.
Here are some of the tweets:
The greatest batsman of his generation. He is on a different level to any current batsmen - @imVkohli!
— KP (@KP24) December 2, 2017
3rd century in 3 innings. Salute to the modern master @imVkohli . What an inspiration !#INDvsSL
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) December 2, 2017
Great to chat with @DickinsonTimes about my plans for the future. Now in India watching @imVkohli who’s playing in a different league at the moment! https://t.co/P1vFSEL9nu
— Jonathan Trott (@Trotty) December 2, 2017
My twins trying to acknowledge Virat's 150 but continue with the Christmas decorations, or should I say vandalism. #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/Bdov4Z8mRk
— Brendan Taylor (@BrendanTaylor86) December 2, 2017
दिलà¥à¤²à¥€ हो या कलकता,
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) December 2, 2017
कोई फ़रà¥à¤•à¤¼ नहीं अलबतà¥à¤¤à¤¾...
Virat समà¥à¤°à¤¾à¤Ÿ की असीम सतà¥à¤¤à¤¾....
52nd International Ton.... #IndvSL
When two eye-catching batsmen bat through a session, it can be fun to watch. But apart from 2-3 balls, neither Vijay nor Kohli had any opposition
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 2, 2017
What a dominating session by India. After 2 sessions scoring at 4.3 rpo. Virat looking in ominous form and a wonderful back to back century from Murali Vijay. Total control.
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) December 2, 2017
King @imVkohli with ANOTHER 💯😱🤤 #bestintheworld #wow 👑
— Ian Bell (@Ian_Bell) December 2, 2017