“No matter what people say, numbers do matter” - Deep Dasgupta believes Virat Kohli’s Trinidad ton is a monkey off his back

Former India keeper-batter Deep Dasgupta reckons that Virat Kohli’s 29th Test ton, his first away from home in nearly five years, is a monkey off the cricketer’s back.

Kohli was unbeaten on 87 after Day 1 of the second Test at Port of Spain in Trinidad. He reached his 76th international hundred on Friday with a square drive off Shannon Gabriel for four. The former India captain thus registered his first overseas Test century since December 2018.

Speaking after the day’s play, Kohli downplayed the long gap between his two away Test tons, stating that he doesn’t think much about stats. However, Dasgupta believes that deep down the star batter would be relieved.

During an interaction on ESPNcricinfo, he said:

“That’s a huge achievement - hundred No. 29. I think it was a really good innings and again something that didn’t come very easy to him. He really had to work for it, so you’ve got to give more credit for that."

Asked whether the century is money off the cricketer’s back, Dasgupta agreed:

“Absolutely yes.” He went on to explain, “No matter what people say, numbers do matter. I’d be honest. When you look at our society as such, most of our judgment is based on numbers. More importantly, it's just the fact that he hadn’t scored a hundred away from home, out of Asia I believe, in so many years.

“It’s not just about what everyone else is saying. It’s also about yourself. Virat is someone who has said that himself before as well - it’s about trying to prove himself. It’s not about what anyone else is saying or what people think. I think that would be a monkey off his back, that hundred. He would be relieved,” the 46-year-old added.

Kohli struck 11 fours in his 206-ball knock, which ended when he was run out by a direct hit from Alzarri Joseph.

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Kohli-Jadeja added 159 runs for the fifth wicket

Kohli and Jadeja joined hands on Day 1 after India lost a few quick wickets to slip to 182/4. The duo featured in a 159-run stand to pave the way for an impressive first-innings total.

While Kohli scored a defiant hundred, Jadeja also chipped in with a resolute 61 off 152 balls, a knock that featured five fours.

After the duo was dismissed, Ravichandran Ashwin contributed 56 off 78 balls, striking eight fours, to lift the visitors to 438.

In response, West Indies went to stumps at 86/1.