New Delhi: Team India skipper Virat Kohli's purple patch continued as he slammed his 18th Test century during the first Test against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens on Monday.
With this, he also became the second Indian batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to register 50 international hundreds.
In the list of most number of international centuries, Kohli is now at the eight spot behind Brian Lara who has 53.
However, with 18 Test hundreds, Kohli has now raced ahead of Dilip Vengsarkar tally of 17.
India's head coach Ravi Shastri heaped special praise on Kohli after he notched up his 50th International century here and said, "sky is the limit" for the skipper who stands at the halfway stage in equalling Sachin Tendulkar's feat.
"Sky is the limit. He (Kohli) is a fabulous player and I am very happy," Shastri said on the sidelines of a promotional event after the first Test against between India and Sri Lanka ended in a draw.
Kohli's hunger for runs and his ability to convert half-centuries into hundreds was on full view as he bounced back from his first innings duck to score an unbeaten 104 to take India within sniffing distance of a glorious win after being on the backfoot in the first four days.
Wickets fell around him but the Indian skipper kept his calm and raced to his 18th Test century.
In the list of most number of centuries, Kohli sits at number eighth behind Brian Lara (53), Mahela Jayawardene (54), Hashim Amla (54), Jaques Kallis (62), Kumar Sangakkara (63) Ricky Ponting (71) and iconic Sachin Tendulkar (100), who is the only cricketer to get 100 international hundreds.
The list has the likes of Kumar Sangakkara (63) and Mahela Jayawardene (54) from Sri Lanka, Australian Ricky Ponting (71), South Africans Jacques Kallis (62) and Hashim Amla (54) and West Indies legend Brian Lara (53).
Kohli has also joined South African great Hashim Amla to be joint fastest to 50 centuries with Hashim Amla in 348 innings each.
With PTI inputs
