50 best moments from Virat Kohli's amazing journey to 100 Tests - in pictures

India's premier batsman will reach milestone during first Test against Sri Lanka in Mohali on Friday

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  Star India batsman Virat Kohli will play his 100th Test against Sri Lanka in Mohali on Friday. Getty

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  Virat Kohli, one of the greatest Test batsmen and captains the game has seen, will reach the landmark of 100 Tests when India take on Sri Lanka in Mohali from Friday. AP

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  Virat Kohli forged a long-standing partnership with MS Dhoni as player and leader. AP

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  Virat Kholi did not have the best of starts to Test cricket, enduring a horror tour of England during which he averaged less than 14 across five Tests. Getty

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  Virat Kohli celebrates after scoring a century against Australia in the 2014 Melbourne Test. It was the series in which he established himself as an all-format batting behemoth. AFP

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  Virat Kohli scored four centuries during the 2014 Australia tour, one of the most significant moments of his Test career. AFP

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  Virat Kohli averages more than 50 in Tests in South Africa - a significant achievement against one of the best pace attacks of modern times. Getty

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  Virat Kholi has scored two tons and three fifties in seven Tests in South Africa. Reuters

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  Virat Kohli is India's most successful Test captain, having won 40 out of 68 Tests. AFP

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  Virat Kohli reached his peak during the 2018 series in England, scoring just under 600 runs in five Tests in extremely challenging conditions.AFP

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  Virat Kohli's cover drive remains of the best sights in cricket. AFP

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  England's veteran seamer James Anderson, right, got the better of Kohli home and away more often than not. AP

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  Virat Kohli kisses the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after India's 2-1 Test series victory over Australia in 2019, one of his finest moments as captain. EPA

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  Virat Kohli celebrates India's 2-1 series win in Australia in 2019. Reuters

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  Virat Kohli has never held back on the field and that has made him a must-watch on TV. AFP

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  Virat Kohli had dedicated cameras following his every move throughout his career. Getty

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  Virat Kohli celebrates after running out England's Joe Root. Reuters

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  Virat Kohli reserved his best for Australia, with the bat and in the field. AP

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  Virat Kohli celebrates the wicket of Australia batsman Marcus Harris, right. EPA

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  Virat Kohli put an emphasis on having a strong pace attack, and he found a superb fast bowler in Jasprit Bumrah. Reuters

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  Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli celebrate the wicket of Rory Burns of England during the 2021 Lord's Test. Getty

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  Mohammed Shami has been a critical part of Kohli's plans to form a lethal pace attack, both at home and away. AFP

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  Virat Kohli has handed over the captaincy reins to Rohit Sharma in all formats. Sportzpics for BCCI

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  Kohli has been a fan favourite for his batting and persona. AP

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  Virat Kohli's form has dipped in all formats of late. He last scored an international ton in November 2019. AFP

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  Virat Kohli has been getting starts but a century has eluded him for more than two years. Sportzpics for BCCI

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  Virat Kohli lost the 2021 World Test Championships final to Kane Williamson's New Zealand - effectively ending his hopes of winning a major trophy. Getty

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  Virat Kohli receives the ICC Test mace from former India captain Sunil Gavaskar in Dharamshala in 2017 - one of the highlights of his career and captaincy. Reuters

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  Virat Kohli has a huge fan following, with 280 million combined followers on social media. AFP

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  Virat Kohli is mainly responsible for putting Test cricket back at the forefront of international cricket. Gallo Images

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  KL Rahul is seen as the next all-format India captain. Reuters

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  Virat Kohli has scored seven Test double centuries. AP

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  Virat Kohli, right, supported Australia's Steve Smith following his return from 'Sandpapergate'. AP

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  Kohli transformed India into a formidable outfit in all formats home and away. AFP

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  Virat Kohli secured a 2-1 series lead in England in 2021, with the final match of that suspended series to be completed this year. Getty

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  Virat Kohli will look to regain his form as a batsman without the burden of captaincy. PA

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  Virat Kohli lost just two out of 31 Tests at home as captain. AP

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  Ravi Shastri formed a successful partnership as coach with Virat Kohli. Reuters

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  Virat Kohli alongside former India coach Duncan Fletcher. AFP

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  Virat Kohli had a difficult relation with the then India coach Anil Kumble. AFP

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  Kohli played with Rahul Dravid, who is now the coach of the Indian team. Getty

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  Virat Kohli with coach Rahul Dravid at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai last year. AFP

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  Virat Kohli is one of the finest fielders in Indian cricket. Reuters

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  Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma come from a strong group of Delhi cricketers who played for India together - including Virender Sehwag, Guatam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra. Reuters

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  England's James Anderson argues with Virat Kohli at Lord's in 2021. Reuters

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  Kohli has unfortunately not played a single Test against Pakistan. AFP

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  Virat Kohli celebrates after scoring a double century against South Africa in Pune on October 11, 2019. AFP

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  Virat Kohli has worked hard to overcome his weakness outside the off stump. AFP

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  Virat Kohli announced on January 15, 2022, he was stepping down as Test captain, a day after his side lost a three-match series to South Africa. AFP

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  Virat Kohli with his former captain MS Dhoni, left, current skipper Rohit Sharma, right, and possible future leader KL Rahul. AFP

Indian cricket will reach a significant milestone when they take on Sri Lanka in the first Test in Mohali on Friday.

The opening match of the two-Test series will the first under Rohit Sharma in red-ball cricket as the all-format captain. And more significantly, it will be star India batsman Virat Kohli's 100th Test.

The last few months have been exacting for Kohli, with him losing or relinquishing captaincy in all formats and also witnessing a gradual dip in form and runs.

Kohli is India's most successful Test captain but stepped down after seven years in charge following a shock 2-1 series defeat in South Africa earlier this year.

It capped a stunning few months where he gave up IPL and T20 captaincy and was removed as India ODI captain.

Now, he is in the team purely as a batsman, looking to recapture the form that made him the best batsman in the world. However, it must be noted that despite a dip in form that has seen him not score a century since November 2019, Kohli still averages over 50 in all three formats.

Fans will be hoping they get to witness Kohli's long-awaited century in his 100th Test match for the country.

For that, the Indian cricket board has allowed fans to return to the Mohali stadium after earlier announcing that the match will be held behind closed doors.

India vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah said a win over Sri Lanka would be a perfect gift for Kohli.

"It's a testimony of his hard work, of his dedication to play 100 Test matches for your country. So it's a great occasion," Bumrah said.

"I am really looking forward to Kohli’s 100th Test and wish our champion cricketer the very best. This is an occasion for our fans to savour. May he continue to represent the country in many more matches to come,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah added.