Pune; Indian skipper Virat Kohli has returned to form with his brilliant 26 Test century against South Africa on the second day of the second Test at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Friday. Kohli's 101 runs knock was laced with sixteen boundaries and he is still going strong.
Kohli also equaled Steve Smith on the list of active cricketers with most hundreds in the longest format of the game.
While the 30-year-old Indian captain took 81 Test matches to score his 26th hundred, Smith achieved the same feat in just 67 Test.
Courtsey to Kohli's latest three-digit figure, he also became fourth fastest batsman in the history of cricket to register 26 Test tons. Former Australian great Don Bradman tops the list, followed by his fellow countrymen Steve Smith and Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar.
Quickest (in terms of innings) to 26 Test tons:
69: Don Bradman (Aus)
121: Steve Smith (AUS)
136: Sachin Tendulkar (IND)
138: Virat Kohli (IND)
144: Sunil Gavaskar (IND)
145: Matthew Hayden (AUS)
Earlier on Day 1, Indian opener Mayank Agrawal smashed his second consecutive ton in the ongoing Test series against South Africa and said that the hosts are looking for a 500-run target in their first innings.
Agarwal, who scored a breathtaking double hundred in his home Test debut on 2nd October in opening Test match of Gandhi-Mandela trophy, smashed 108 runs before getting dismissed by star Proteas seamer Kagiso Rabada.
Riding on Agarwal's century, India posted 273 runs for the loss of three wickets before bad light forced an early Day 1.
Talking about his performance at the end of Day 1, Agarwal said he was thrilled with it.
"The team is in a good position, winning the toss, batting first and with one batsman short, it's a good thing to make runs... 450-500 would be nice," Agarwal was quoted as saying by a leading English newspaper.
"Try and get big runs in the first innings... (that) could help us in case we don't want to bat again. It could really put pressure on the South Africans," Agarwal added.
