After 1,020 days, the wait for Kohli's 71st century finally came to an end during the Asia Cup. When he smashed a stunning 122* off 61 balls against Afghanistan, and in doing so equalled Ponting's record of 71 international tons.
Asked for his thoughts on his record – now the joint-second highest international century tally – being matched, Ponting said: “It was only a matter of time.”
Throughout Kohli’s barren run, Ponting was vocal in his support for the former India captain, even as plenty of former players called for him to be dropped.
Ahead of the Asia Cup, Kohli had taken a month-long break from cricket, making sure not to touch the bat during the break, something he conceded during an interview with Star Sports. He also opened up about his struggles with mental health during the period when he suffered a lean patch.
The break clearly helped as Kohli finished the Asia Cup as the second-highest run-scorer with 276 runs in five matches at a strike rate of 147.59, which included two fifties and a hundred.
"It’s (the century) taken a bit longer, the last couple of years because he has been in that century-making drought if you like, it has taken a bit longer to get to me than I thought it was going to.
“But look, he is obviously one of the all-time greats and there’s still a long time to go in his career. It was good to see him back in the runs.
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