Four times that Virat Kohli dedicated his on-field success to wife Anushka Sharma

Virat Kohli is not just the ideal man on the field, but also the ideal man for his wife has been very vocal on the support Anushka Sharma gives him, on numerous occasions.

Anushka has often been targetted by supporters in those rare occasions when Virat fails to deliver, and every time that happens, he responds back with a stunning performance in her presence, blowing kisses at her and shutting the mouths of a thousand critics all at once.

The same thing has happened most recently, as Virat staged a firework display while Anushka was watching, on Day 2 of the first Test against England at Edgbaston, saving the entire team's hopes simultaneously.

So now let's take a look at four instances where Virat dedicated his outstanding on-field performances to her, while she was present on the stands:

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#1 Edgbaston, Birmingham - 149 vs England; 2nd August 2018.

Virat Kohli himself rated his innings as his second-best ever in all-whites, as he built his team from 59/3 initially and then at a whole new level from 182/8, till the total score reached 274. Battling Anderson's wild swing, Sam Curran's and Ben Stokes' strong pace and so on, he scored 149 - nearly 55% of the team total, all by himself.

India was looking entirely lost at sea as Curran produced a triple-breakthrough to dismiss all of the top-order with the exception of Kohli, after which Anderson, Broad and Stokes made short work of the rest of the middle-order.

Virat virtually built his innings out of nothing, initially through resistance and later through aggression after he ran out of batting partners in the top and middle orders.

As the eighth wicket fell at 182, his score was just 67, with only Ishant and Umesh remaining to bat. Yet, he made the most out of what he had, scoring 82 out of the 92 runs scored by India since then.

India were 217/9 when Virat was on the verge of three-figures, and he duly smacked a ball past extra-cover to get there.

The celebrations were wild as Kohli had just 134 innings from 10 innings in England so far, and he had officially conquered the land for the first time.

A roar and a very energetic fist-pump into the air were followed by him removing his helmet, and placing the bat on the ground, he took out his engagement ring and kissed it, looking at Anushka who was present in the stands.

He did not stop, scoring 48 more runs and edging India very close to the shore.

He departed as the last man, trying in vain for a boundary, perhaps looking to get India an innings lead before time (or wickets) run out.

But by then, India was back in the game and has now gone on to establish a real stranglehold over England, with India needing 194 runs to win the first Test according to latest reports.

#2 Supersport Park, Centurion - 153 vs South Africa; 14th January 2018.

Virat celebrating his Centurion ton

Just like yesterday, Virat remained steadfast at one end and stitched vital partnerships for the sixth and seventh wickets as India edged closer to the Protean total. In the process, he also made a hundred for himself, and then adding 53 more runs, getting dismissed eventually as the last man, at 307, just 28 runs short.

Kohli was phenomenal throughout the South African tour of 2018, and it began with the pyrotechnics at Centurion, in the second Test of the series.

Batting first, South Africa had posted 335, after which India came in to bat and suffered a similar fate as yesterday, including a top-order fallout, some runs afterward and then a middle-order breakdown.

Anushka was present at the venue, and after reaching his ton, he raised his bat and helmet and greeted his wife amid claps of appreciation. India would, however, go on to lose the match as Virat was not able to repeat his exploits another time, nor did the others take his place.

#3 MCG, Melbourne - 169 vs Australia; 28th December 2014.

Anushka congratulates Kohli from the stands at the MCG

India then came into bat, and good starts by the openers and Pujara brought the score to 108/2 when Virat came in to bat. the third wicket fell at 147, and out came Rahane at No.5. The duo of Kohli and Rahane did something extraordinary since, as they dropped anchors completely and played out the rest of the day.

This was the same series where Virat Kohli was thrust into a new role, as the Team captain - following MS Dhoni's unexpected retirement from the red-ball format.

In the first game itself, he looked to prove his points, as India slid to a close defeat after putting in a lot of fight, as Virat's captaincy was lauded.

The next game, the third Test of the series was at Melbourne, and Australia started well, keen to show that nothing can change their domination. And that's exactly what they did, scoring 530 days, nearly covering one and a half days of play.

Within an hour of the next day's play, the new captain scored his ton and immediately proceeded to acknowledge who else, but Anushka who was watching from the stands. It was during this game that commentator Michael Slater produced the popular goof-up, addressing Anushka as Virat's "wife" on Live TV, though the duo had not married back then.

Slater's Freudian slip, however, might have been like a boon granted to "Virushka" as the couple eventually tied the knot nearly three years later.

#4 JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi - 139 vs Sri Lanka; 16th November 2014

Kohli jubilant after winning the match. He played a crucial stand with Axar Patel in the last seven overs

Batting first, Sri Lanka made a respectable 287, giving impressions of a consolation win at least, before India came in to bat.

And when they did, the situation became even more pathetic for the hosts as Rohit and Rahane reached the pavilion before the score crossed 15.

Then came Virat Kohli, who partnered with Rayudu and brought the score to 150, before the latter departed.

This is perhaps the earliest instance when Virat dedicated a ton to his then-girlfriend Anushka Sharma, as India played Sri Lanka in the fifth and last ODI of the series. India had already won the series 4 - 0, with Rohit Sharma's 264 from the previous game gathering all the attention.

Wickets then continued to fall at regular intervals, and he decided to accelerate, immediately switching to top-gear as it started raining fours and sixes.

India eventually crossed the target with eight balls to spare and three wickets in hand, as the star batsman made yet another remarkable hundred in the presence of his beau.

He ended the day at 139 not out, scoring the winning runs with a four and handing Sri Lanka a 5 - 0 whitewash. He was also elected man-of-the-match.