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Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma called his former prodigy surpassing legendary Sachin Tendulkar's century record in Australia a "big achievement" and gave a special shout-out to stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah by branding him as the "number one bowler in the world."
India soared to new heights in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series opener with a sensational all-round display across three days of play. Even though the initial signs didn't point towards India's overall dominance after the visitors folded on 150, the tempo completely changed when Bumrah spearheaded the attack. Kohli ended his Test century drought of 16 innings with a hard-earned unbeaten 100 off 143 deliveries on the challenging Peth Test strip. This was Kohli's seventh Test century in Australia, the most by an Indian batter as he eclipsed the iconic Sachin Tendulkar, who scored six Test tons in Australia during his illustrious career. "It is a big achievement. The record gets bigger as it was great Sachin Tendulkar's record. It isn't easy to make runs in Australia. He batted very well," Rajkumar told ANI. Rajkumar also praised youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal for his exquisite 161 on his maiden tour of Australia, which played its part in handing India a commanding position. "I want to congratulate Yashasvi Jaiswal for his knock. India is now in a commanding position to win this Test match," he added. Bumrah, who has stepped up to fill in the shoes of skipper Rohit Sharma, brought in his A-Game. He has spearheaded the bowling attack along with the team, which has left Australia slowly crumbling to defeat. In the first innings, he made short work of Australia's batting order and claimed his 11th Test five-wicket haul. In his second turn, he left debutant Nathan McSweeney pinned in front of the stumps in the opening over. He then came back to dismiss Marnus Labuschagne, which left Australia in a delicate spot at 12/3 with still 522 runs to chase. "Bumrah is the number one bowler in the world. He is bowling some deliveries unplayable. He is a very intelligent bowler. He is a class bowler," Rajkumar Sharma noted. (ANI)
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