Virat Kohli on Thursday hit his 71^st international century after a long wait to hand Afghanistan a defeat in what stood out to be a dead rubber Asia Cup match.

After disappointing results against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, India were left on the brink of exit with Pakistan’s victory over Afghanistan confirming the inevitable.

In a match of very little significance, what made headlines was Kohli’s first international century in 1,019 days as the former Indian captain went through a rough patch of form. However, the writing was on the wall with Kohli brushing aside all criticism to perform well in the tournament being played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

After registering scores of 35 and 59 against Pakistan and Hong Kong in the group stages, and then scoring 60 facing Pakistan again, Kohli went for nought against Sri Lanka. Coming up against Afghanistan, there was no stopping him as he raced to a 61 ball 122 in a blistering innings.

Rohit Sharma missed the match meaning Kohli took the mantle of starting the Indian innings alongside K L Rahul. Before the match, he had last scored an international century against Bangladesh in a Pink Ball Test on November 23, 2019.

In addition to that, this was also Kohli’s first ton in the shorter T20 format of the game. His effort saw him equal the tally of former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. In the all-time last, Kohli is second to only Sachin Tendulkar.

Based on solid start, India reached a total of 212 for the loss of two wickets. Kohli smashed two sixes and a four in the end to push India beyond the 200 mark.

Needing to chase down a massive totala, Afghanistan faltered and could only manage 111 runs in their 20 overs to hand the men in blue a 101 run victory, which will be in vain with India’s exit confirmed.