'King' Kohli becomes second fastest to 25th Test ton
Perth, Dec 16: Virat Kohli Sunday became the second fastest to 25 Test centuries with his sixth ton in Australia, joining boyhood hero Sachin Tendulkar, and celebrated by suggesting he lets his bat do the talking.
The 30-year-old Kohli achieved the feat in 127 innings. However, he fell to a controversial catch after leading India's fightback in the second Test here.
In reply to Australia's first-innings total of 326 all out, India were 252 for seven at lunch on the third day, with Kohli doing the bulk of scoring.
Kohli reached his seventh century against Australia in style, playing a classic drive off Mitchell Starc.
On reaching the three-figure mark, Kohli removed his helmet and placed it on the green turf at the Optus Stadium. The Indian fans roared from the stands as their hero pointed at his bat and gestured with his fingers in a manner that suggested: 'I let the bat do the talking' rather than the mouth.
The innovative celebration caught the attention of the cricket world.
If anyone has seen a better player across all the different formats then I haven't seen him .. @imVkohli is incredible ... Loved his 'let the Bat do the talking' celebration !!" former England captain Michael Vaughan tweeted.
Spin legend Shane Warne wrote on his twitter handle, "Congrats to @imVkohli on another magnificent 100. A completely different class to any other batsman playing international cricket & on the planet. An absolute joy to watch - well played!"
Countryman Sachin Tendulkar is third with 130, while Don Bradman managed it in just 68.
It was also Kohli's sixth century in Australia, lifting him equal with Tendulkar as the only Indian batsmen to reach that tally, and gave him the honour of becoming the first Test centurion at the new Perth Stadium.
Kohli is now the 11th batsman to complete 1000 Test runs in a calendar year overseas and the third Indian to achieve the mark after Rahul Dravid (1137 runs in 18 innings in 2002) and Mohinder Amarnath (1065 runs in 16 innings in 1983).
Kohli is also the first Indian skipper to breach the milestone and the third overall captain after Australia's Bob Simpson and South Africa's Graeme Smith.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
