The finger

In Western culture, the finger (as in giving someone the finger or the bird), also known as the middle finger, flipping someone off, or flicking someone off, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "up yours", "fuck off" ("screw off") or "fuck you" ("screw you") . It is performed by showing the back of a closed fist that has only the middle finger extended upwards. In a more common and less obscene use,^{[clarification needed]} extending the finger is the universal^{[citation needed]} symbol of contempt.

Origin[link]

The finger is one of the most ancient insult gestures and was seen as phallic in meaning.^[1] The earliest attested reference to the finger comes from Ancient Greece when it was known as the κατάπυγον^[2][3] (katapugon, from kata - κατά, "downwards"^[4] and pugē - πυγή, "rump, buttocks"^[5]) and reference is made to using the finger in ancient Greek comedy to insult another person, where the term katapugon also meant "a male (or a female, katapugaina^[6]) who submits to anal penetration".^[7] In Ancient Roman writings it is identified as the digitus impudicus (impudent finger)^[8][1] and the widespread usage of the finger in many cultures is likely because of the geographical influence of the Roman Empire and Greco-Roman civilization.^{[citation needed]} Another possible origin of this gesture can be found in the first-century Mediterranean world, where extending the finger was one of many methods used to divert the ever-present threat of the evil eye offense.^[9]

Baseball pitcher Old Hoss Radbourn pictured giving the finger to cameraman, 1886. (Back row, far left). First known photograph of the gesture.^[10]

According to anthropologist Desmond Morris, the gesture probably came to the United States from Italian immigrants and is documented as early as 1886 when a baseball pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters, Old Hoss Radbourn, was photographed giving it to a member of the rival New York Giants.^[1]

Other names[link]

The gesture has also been referred to flipping, flicking off (sometimes flashing or flying), one-digit salute, the bird;^[11] or it could be flipping somebody off.^[11]

See also[link]

• Bras d'honneur
• Obscene gestures
• V Sign, for the obscene bird-finger gesture in the UK

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Middle finger gestures

• Robbins, Ira P. (2004), Digitus Impudicus: The Middle Finger and the Law, http://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/41-4_Robbins.pdf, retrieved 2010-03-01 .

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

Fingers of the human left hand.

A finger is a limb of the human body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of humans and other primates.^[1][2] Normally humans have five digits, termed phalanges,^[2] on each hand (exceptions are polydactyly, oligodactyly and digit loss). The first digit is the thumb, followed by index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger or pinky. Some other languages use the same generic term for all five digits of a hand.

English dictionaries describe finger as meaning either one of the five digits including the thumb, or one of the four excluding the thumb (in which case they are numbered from 1 to 4 starting with the index finger closest to the thumb).^[1][2][3] Linguistically, it appears that the original sense was to include the thumb as a finger: the word is derived from *‍penkwe-ros^{[citation needed]} (also rendered as *penqrós^{[citation needed]}) which was, in the inferred Proto-Indo-European language, a suffixed form of *penkwe (or *penqe), "five", which has^{[citation needed]} given rise to many Indo-European-family words (tens of them defined in English dictionaries) that involve or flow from concepts of fiveness.

Chimpanzees have lower limbs that are specialized for manipulation, and (arguably) have fingers on their lower limbs as well. The term 'finger' is not applied to the digits of most other animals, such as canines, felines, or ungulates, none of which can engage in fine manipulation with their forelimbs as a primate can.

Function[link]

Each finger may flex and extend, abduct and adduct, and so also circumduct. Flexion is by far the strongest movement. In humans, there are two large muscles that produce flexion of each finger, and additional muscles that augment the movement. Each finger may move independently of the others, though the muscle bulks that move each finger may be partly blended, and the tendons may be attached to each other by a net of fibrous tissue, preventing completely free movement. This is particularly noticeable when trying to extend the third digit (middle finger) with the others flexed.

Fingers are usually moved under conscious control. In humans, they are used for grasping, typing, grooming, writing, caressing, and many other activities. They are also used in signaling, as when wearing a wedding ring, finger counting or when communicating in sign language.

Aside from the genitals, the fingertips possess the highest concentration of touch receptors and thermoreceptors among all areas of the human skin, making them extremely sensitive to temperature, pressure, vibration, texture, and moisture. Thus fingers are commonly used as sensory probes to ascertain properties of objects encountered in the world, and so they are prone to injury.

Fingers do not contain muscles other than arrector pili muscles. The muscles that move the finger joints are in the palm and forearm. The long tendons that deliver motion from the forearm muscles may be observed to move under the skin at the wrist and on the back of the hand.

Fingers[link]

Each of the fingers has unique cultural and functional significance. From the thumb on the radial side to the ulnar side of the hand, the fingers are in this order:

Thumb, (med./lat.: Pollex) Index finger, (digitus secundus manus) also called 'pointer finger', or 'forefinger' Middle finger, (digitus medius and more commonly digitus tertius) often the longest Ring finger, (digitus annularis) also known as fourth finger Little finger, (digitus mínimus mánus) also known as 'pinky'

Anatomy[link]

The 5 digits are attached to the forearm by a joint called the wrist (carpus).^[4][5]

The thumb (connected to the trapezium) is located on one of the sides, parallel to the arm.

Illustration depicting the bones of the human hand

The palm has five bones known as metacarpal bones, one to each of the 5 digits. Human hands contain fourteen digital bones, also called phalanges, or phalanx bones: two in the thumb (the thumb has no middle phalanx) and three in each of the four fingers. These are the distal phalanx, carrying the nail, the middle phalanx, and the proximal phalanx.

Sesamoid bones are small ossified nodes embedded in the tendons to provide extra leverage and reduce pressure on the underlying tissue. Many exist around the palm at the bases of the digits; the exact number varies between different people.

The articulations are: interphalangeal articulations between phalangeal bones, and metacarpophalangeal joints connecting the phalanges to the metacarpal bones.

The pulp of a finger is the fleshy mass on the palmar aspect of the extremity of the finger.^[6]

Muscles[link]

Muscles and other structures of wrist and palm

Muscles of the fingers can be subdivided into two groups: the extrinsic and intrinsic muscle groups. The extrinsic muscle groups are the long flexors and extensors. They are called extrinsic because the muscle belly is located on the forearm.

The intrinsic muscle groups are the thenar and hypothenar muscles (thenar referring to the thumb, hypothenar to the small finger), the interossei muscles (between the metacarpal bones, four dorsally and three volarly) and the lumbrical muscles. These muscles arise from the deep flexor (and are special because they have no bony origin) and insert on the dorsal extensor hood mechanism. The intrinsic muscles of hand can be remembered using the mnemonic, "A OF A OF A" for, Abductor pollicis brevis, Opponens pollicis, Flexor pollicis brevis, Adductor pollicis (thenar muscles) and Opponens digiti minimi, Flexor digiti minimi brevis, Abductor digiti minimi (hypothenar muscles).^[7]

The fingers have two long flexors, located on the underside of the forearm. They insert by tendons to the phalanges of the fingers. The deep flexor attaches to the distal phalanx, and the superficial flexor attaches to the middle phalanx. The flexors allow for the actual bending of the fingers. The thumb has one long flexor and a short flexor in the thenar muscle group. The human thumb also has other muscles in the thenar group (opponens and abductor brevis muscle), moving the thumb in opposition, making grasping possible.

The extensors are located on the back of the forearm and are connected in a more complex way than the flexors to the dorsum of the fingers. The tendons unite with the interosseous and lumbrical muscles to form the extensorhood mechanism. The primary function of the extensors is to straighten out the digits. The thumb has two extensors in the forearm; the tendons of these form the anatomical snuff box. Also, the index finger and the little finger have an extra extensor, used for instance for pointing. The extensors are situated within 6 separate compartments. The 1st compartment contains abductor pollicis longus and extensor pollicis brevis. The 2nd compartment contains extensors carpi radialis longus and brevis. The 3rd compartment contains extensor pollicis longus. The extensor digitorum indicis and extensor digititorum communis are within the 4th compartment. Extensor digiti minimi is in the fifth, and extensor carpi ulnaris is in the 6th.

Anomalies and diseases[link]

Radiograph of Type 1 Syndactyly

A rare anatomical variation affects 1 in 500 humans,^[8] in which the individual has more than the usual number of digits; this is known as polydactyly. A human may also be born without one or more fingers or underdevelopment of some fingers such as symbrachydactyly. Extra fingers can be functional. One individual with seven fingers not only used them but claimed that they “gave him some advantages in playing the piano.”^[9]

Phalanges are commonly fractured. A damaged tendon can cause significant loss of function in fine motor control, such as with a mallet finger.

Finger locking is the act of locking the middle joint of a finger in place, and bending the very last joint independently from the others. Many people have the ability to do this in only one hand or even in both, depending on how the muscles are formed in the hand. Finger locking may cause pain.^{[citation needed]}

The fingers are commonly affected by diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and gout. Diabetics often use the fingers to obtain blood samples for regular blood sugar testing. Raynaud's phenomenon is a neurovascular disorder that affects the fingers.

Research has linked the ratio of lengths between the index and ring fingers to higher levels of testosterone, and to various physical and behavioral traits such as penis length^[10] and risk for development of alcohol dependence.^[11]

Brain representation[link]

Each finger has an orderly somatotopic representation on the cerebral cortex in the somatosensory cortex area 3b,^[12] part of area 1^[13] and a distributed, overlapping representations in the supplementary motor area and primary motor area.^[14]

The somatosensory cortex representation of the hand is a dynamic reflection of the fingers on the external hand: in syndactyly people have a clubhand of webbed, shortened fingers. However, not only are the fingers of their hands fused, but the cortical maps of their individual fingers also form a club hand. The fingers can be surgically divided to make a more useful hand. Surgeons did this at the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery in New York to a 32-year-old man with the initials O. G.. They touched O. G.’s fingers before and after surgery while using MRI brain scans. Before the surgery, the fingers mapped onto his brain were fused close together; afterward, the maps of his individual fingers did indeed separate and take the layout corresponding to a normal hand.^[15]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Finger

• Digit ratio (relative finger lengths)
• Fingerprint
• Hand Palm
• Home row (of keyboards)
• Knuckle
• Nail (anatomy)
• Toe
• Finger snapping
• Polydactyly

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up finger in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Finger Length Predicts Aggression in Men
• Finger Length Predicts SAT Performance

v t e Human regional anatomy (TA A01.1) Head Forehead · Ear · Jaw · Face (Cheek, Eye, Nose, Mouth, Chin) · Occiput · Scalp · Temple Neck Throat · Adam's apple Trunk Chest (Breast) · Abdomen (Navel) · Back · Pelvis (Sex organs) Limbs Upper limb Shoulder · Axilla · Arm Elbow · Forearm Wrist · Hand · Finger (Thumb · Index · Middle · Ring · Little) Lower limb/ (see also leg) Hip · Buttocks · Thigh Knee · Calf · Crus Ankle · Heel · Foot · Toe (Hallux · Long  • Third  • Fourth  • Fifth) · Sole General anatomy: systems and organs, regional anatomy, planes and lines, superficial axial anatomy, superficial anatomy of limbs

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Military air marshallers use hand and body gestures to direct flight operations aboard aircraft carriers.

A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of speech or together and in parallel with spoken words. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body. Gestures differ from physical non-verbal communication that does not communicate specific messages, such as purely expressive displays, proxemics, or displays of joint attention.^[1] Gestures allow individuals to communicate a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and hostility to approval and affection, often together with body language in addition to words when they speak.

Gesture processing takes place in areas of the brain such as Broca's and Wernicke's areas, which are used by speech and sign language.^[2]

Studies of gesture[link]

Gestures have been studied throughout the centuries from different view points.^[3] During the Roman Empire, Quintilian studied in his Institution Oratoria how gesture may be used in rhetorical discourse. Another broad study of gesture was published by John Bulwer in 1644. Bulwer analyzed dozens of gestures and provided a guide on how to use gestures to increase eloquence and clarity for public speaking.^[4] Andrea De Jorio published an extensive account of gestural expression in 1832.^[5]

Categories of gestures[link]

Pointing at another person with an extended finger is considered rude in many cultures.

Although the study of gesture is still in its infancy, some broad categories of gestures have been identified by researchers. The most familiar are the so-called emblems or quotable gestures. These are conventional, culture-specific gestures that can be used as replacement for words, such as the handwave used in the US for "hello" and "goodbye". A single emblematic gesture can a have very different significance in different cultural contexts, ranging from complimentary to highly offensive ^[6] The page List of gestures discusses emblematic gestures made with one hand, two hands, hand and other body parts, and body and facial gestures.

Another broad category of gestures comprises those gestures used spontaneously when we speak. These gestures are closely coordinated with speech. The so-called beat gestures are used in conjunction with speech and keep time with the rhythm of speech to emphasize certain words or phrases. These types of gestures are integrally connected to speech and thought processes.^[7] Other spontaneous gestures used when we speak are more contentful and may echo or elaborate the meaning of the co-occurring speech. For example, a gesture that depicts the act of throwing may be synchronous with the utterance, "He threw the ball right into the window." ^[7]

Gestural languages such as American Sign Language and its regional siblings operate as complete natural languages that are gestural in modality. They should not be confused with finger spelling, in which a set of emblematic gestures are used to represent a written alphabet.

Social significance[link]

Many animals, including humans, use gestures to initiate a mating ritual. This may include elaborate dances and other movements. Gesturs play a major role in many aspects of human life. Gesturing is probably a universal; there has been no report of a community that does not gesture. Gestures are a crucial part of everyday conversation such as chatting, describing a route, negotiating prices on a market; they are ubiquitous. Gestures have been documented in the arts such as in Greek vase paintings, Indian Miniatures or European paintings.

Gestures play a central role in religious or spiritual rituals such as the Christian sign of the cross. In Hinduism and Buddhism, a mudra (Sanskrit, literally "seal") is a symbolic gesture made with the hand or fingers. Each mudra has a specific meaning, playing a central role in Hindu and Buddhist iconography. An example is the Vitarka mudra, the gesture of discussion and transmission of Buddhist teaching. It is done by joining the tips of the thumb and the index together, while keeping the other fingers straight.

Neurology[link]

Gestures are processed in the same areas of the brain as speech and sign language such as the left inferior frontal gyrus (Broca's area) and the posterior middle temporal gyrus, posterior superior temporal sulcus and superior temporal gyrus (Wernicke's area).^[2] It has been suggested that these parts of the brain originally supporting the pairing of gesture and meaning and then were adapted in human evolution "for the comparable pairing of sound and meaning as voluntary control over the vocal apparatus was established and spoken language evolved".^[2] As a result, it underlies both symbolic gesture and spoken language in the present human brain. Their common neurological basis also supports the idea that symbolic gesture and spoken language are two parts of a single fundamental semiotic system that underlies human discourse.^[7]

Electronic interface[link]

The movement of gestures can be used to interact with technology like computers^[8], using touch or multi-touch popularised by the iPhone, physical movement detection and visual motion capture, used in video game consoles.

See also[link]

• Chironomia
• Kinesics
• List of gestures
• Musical gesture
• Posture (psychology)
• Rock, Paper, Scissors, a game played with hand gestures
• Sign language
• Taunt

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• {[cite book | last = Bulwer | first = J | authorlink = John Bulwer | year = 1644 | title = Chirologia: or the Naturall Language of the Hand }}
• Goldin-Meadow, S (2003). Hearing gesture: How our hands help us think. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01837-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=LCJ5eQdsolsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Kendon, A (2004). Gesture: Visible Action as Utterance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-54293-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=hDXnnzmDkOkC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Kita, S (2003). Pointing: Where Language, Culture and Cognition Meet. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0-8058-4014-1. 
• McNeill, D (2005). Gesture and Thought. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-51462-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=N0SmyU4TKRwC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. 

External links[link]

Look up gesture in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: gestures

• International Society for Gesture Studies devoted to the study of human gesture

Virat Kohli

Personal information
Full name	Virat Kohli
Born	(1988-11-05) 5 November 1988 (age 23) Delhi, India
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right arm medium pace
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	India
Test debut (cap 268)	20 June 2011 v West Indies
Last Test	28 January 2012 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 175)	18 August 2008 v Sri Lanka
Last ODI	18 March 2012 v Pakistan
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2006–present	Delhi
2008–present	Royal Challengers Bangalore
Career statistics
Competition	Test	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	8	85	38	116
Runs scored	491	3590	2,622	4,941
Batting average	32.73	50.56	50.42	50.41
100s/50s	1/3	11/21	8/11	15/28
Top score	116	183	197	183
Balls bowled	66	274	534	332
Wickets	0	2	3	2
Bowling average	–	133.00	96.33	159.00
5 wickets in innings	0	0	0	0
10 wickets in match	0	n/a	0	n/a
Best bowling	n/a	1/20	1/19	1/20
Catches/stumpings	10/–	41/–	37/–	61/–
Source: ESPNCricinfo, 28 May 2012

Virat Kohli  pronunciation (help·info) (born 5 November 1988 in Delhi) is an Indian international cricketer. He is a middle order batsman, who can also open the batting. He can also bowl right arm medium pace.^[1] Kohli was the captain of the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia. He represents Delhi in first-class cricket and plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. He also played for the West Delhi Cricket Academy.^[2] He made his One Day International (ODI) debut in 2008 and was part of the Indian team which won the 2011 World Cup. Despite being a regular in the ODI side, he only played his first Test in 2011.

Personal life[link]

Virat Kohli was born on 5 November 1988 in Delhi to Prem and Saroj Kohli.^[3] He has an elder brother, Vikash, and an elder sister, Bhavna.^[4] Virat attended school at Vishal Bharti and Savier Convent. Virat's father, Prem, worked as a lawyer and died in December 2006.^[3] Little is known of Virat Kohli's personal life.^[5]

Youth cricket and early career[link]

The West Delhi Cricket Academy was created in 1998 and Kohli was part of its first intake.^[5] Kohli first came into the spotlight when he played for Delhi in a Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka on the day of his father's death. Choosing to stay and bat, he went on to score 90 runs. Mithun Manhas, the team's captain, remarked that "That is an act of great commitment to the team and his innings turned out to be crucial".^[6]

Kohli captained the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia.^[7] Batting at number 4, he scored 235 runs in 6 matches at an average of 47, including a century against the West Indies U-19s.^[8] He was also commended for making several tactical bowling changes during the tournament.^[9] His mother noted that "Virat changed a bit after that day. Overnight he became a much more matured person. He took every match seriously. He hated being on the bench. It's as if his life hinged totally on cricket after that day."^[3]

Kohli was instrumental in India's win of the 2009 Emerging Players Tournament in Australia. In the final against South Africa, Kohli scored a century and India went on to win the game by 17 runs. Kohli emerged as the leading run scorer of the tournament, aggregating 398 runs from seven matches including two centuries and two fifties.^[10]

Kohli played for Royal Challengers Bangalore at the 2008 Indian Premier League.^[11] He was bought for $30,000 before the first season in 2008. He did not perform well, scoring only 165 runs in 13 innings at an average of 15 and taking only 2 wickets with his bowling. But he improved marginally in the second season, scoring 246 runs in 16 innings with an average of 22.36 and taking 9 catches and effecting 2 run outs. In the third season, he scored 307 runs, including two half centuries, in 13 innings at an average of 27.90. In the fourth season of the IPL, he was the only player that Royal Challengers Bangalore retained, preferred over the likes of Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ross Taylor.

ODI specialist (2008–2011)[link]

Following a hundred in the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia in 2008, Kohli was selected in the ODI squad for India's tour of Sri Lanka.^[12] Kohli made his debut in One Day International against Sri Lanka in the Idea Cup in 2008 when both Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag were injured. He opened the batting in the first match, but was out for 12. But he made a crucial 37 in a low scoring second match in the series, which helped India win and level the series. He made his first half century, a score of 54, in the fourth match which helped India win the series. This was India's first one day series win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. He was included in the squad for the home ODI series against England later that same year but was not given a chance to play,due to inclusion of Sachin and Sehwag in team. Kohli was then dropped from the squad for the five-match ODI series in Sri Lanka against Sri Lanka in January 2009.

Kohli played in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy after Yuvraj Singh was injured, and since mid-2009 has been the reserve ODI batsman. Yuvraj regained fitness for the home series against Australia, so Kohli only played in occasional matches in the series.

In the absence of the injured Yuvraj, Kohli got a chance to play in the 4th ODI when Sri Lanka toured India in December 2009. He scored his first ODI century, milking singles with Gautam Gambhir they shared a 224-run partnership for the third wicket as India won by seven wickets to seal the series 3–1.

Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar was rested for the tri-nations tournament in Bangladesh in January 2010, so Kohli played in each of India's five matches. After making nine in the opening loss to Sri Lanka, he top-scored with 91 to help secure a win after India collapsed early in their run chase against Bangladesh on 7 January 2010. He then ended unbeaten on 71 to help win the match for India with a bonus point after they chased down their target quickly. The next day, he scored his second ODI century, against Bangladesh, bringing up the mark with the winning runs. He was much praised for his performances during the tournament, and became only the third Indian to score two ODI centuries before their 22nd birthday, following in the footsteps of Tendulkar and Suresh Raina.^[13] However, in the final against Sri Lanka he made only two as India collapsed to 5/60 and an eventual four-wicket defeat.

Kohli was named vice-captain of the ODI side for the Tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in June 2010 as all the other first-choice players skipped the tournament. In the same series, he became the fastest Indian to score 1,000 runs in ODI cricket.^[14] He was India's leading run-scorer in 2010, with 995 runs including three centuries from 25 matches at an average of 47.38.^[15] Kohli was preferred over Raina for the 2011 World Cup and became the first Indian to score a century on World Cup debut. He also scored 59 against West Indies while sharing a 122-run patnership with Yuvraj Singh.^[16] His 83-run partnership for the third wicket with Gautam Gambhir was instrumental in India taking the upper hand during their run chase against Sri Lanka in the final.^[17] He made 282 runs in 9 innings at an average of 35.25.^[18] Between 1 January 2009 and 1 September 2011, Kohli was India's second highest run-scorer in ODIs with 1,994 runs at an average of 47.47.^[19]

Introduction to Tests (2011–2012)[link]

When India toured the West Indies in June and July 2011, they chose a largely inexperienced squad, resting Tendulkar and others such as Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag missing out due to injuries. Kohli was one of three uncapped players in the Test squad.^[20] India won the Test series 1–0 but Kohli struggled on his debut in the format; he struggled with the short ball^[21] amassing just 76 runs from five innings.^[22] Particularly troublesome for Kohli was the fast bowling of Fidel Edwards, who dismissed him three times in the series.^[23] Initially dropped from the Test squad for India's four-match series against England in July and August, Kohli was recalled as cover for the injured Yuvraj Singh,^[24] though did not play in the series.^[25] He participated in the subsequent ODI series, scoring 194 runs from five innings including a century,^[26] although India lost the series 3–0.^[27] In October England faced India in a return ODI series in India. India won 5–0 and Kohli was the highest run-scorer on either side with 270 across five matches and a highest score of 112 not out.^[28][29]

In November and December 2011, the West Indies toured India for three Tests and five ODIs. Following his ODI success against England the previous month Kohli was included in the Test squad ahead of Raina. In competition with Yuvraj Singh for the number six position,^[30] it was not until the final match of the series that Kohli was selected in the team.^[25] The match ended in a draw, and having won the first two Tests took the series 2–0; Kohli scored a pair of fifties in the match, passing his previous highest score of 30.^[31] India won the subsequent ODI series 4–1 and Kohli managed 243 runs at an average of 60.75 with a highest score of 117.^[32]

Kohli was included in India's squad for the tour of Australia in December 2011. After the first Test he felt his position in the team was in jeopardy,^[33] and during the second Kohli was fined half of his match fee for swearing at fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground who were insulting him.^[34] In an interview after the incident, he remarked "Scoring eight hundreds in one-day internationals can't be a fluke. It's international cricket as well. I don't know why people have been questioning my technique or temperament so much. ... All of this is a learning curve for me. I am playing on difficult wickets, in Australia."^[33] Kohli top scored in each of India's innings in the third Test, with 44 and 75,^[35] and in the fourth and final match Kohli scored his maiden Test century of 116 runs in the second innings; it was the only century scored by an Indian in the series.^[36] India lost the series 4–0^[37] and Kohli was the top scorer for India in the same series.^[38]

India remained in Australia for the triangular ODI series, that followed the Tests; it was contested by Australia, Sri Lanka, and India. Kohli was India's leading run-scorer in the series scoring 373 runs including two half centuries and a century – again, the only century scored by an Indian in the series.^[39] Though India did not progress to the final,^[40] victory against Sri Lanka in India's last match kept them in contention until the final fixture of the group stage. Chasing 321 to win, Kohli came to the crease with India's score at 86/2 and went on to score 133 not out from 86 balls to win with 13 overs to spare. He was named Man of the Match for his effort, which included scoring 24 runs from an over by Lasith Malinga.^[41] He was named vice-captain of the ODI team for the 2012 Asia Cup in March.^[42]

He scored 183 off 148 balls against Pakistan in the fifth match of Asia Cup 2012, recording the joint-fourth highest score by an Indian in ODIs. Coming in at 0/1, he struck 22 fours and a six to take India to a record chase of 330. This is his highest score in One Day internationals and the highest individual score in the Asia Cup. Kohli's innings was the highest individual innings for a batsman against Pakistan in a ODI surpassing previous record by Brian Lara (156).^[43][44] The 2012 Indian Premier League followed in April and May and Kohli scored 364 runs fron 16 matches, with two half-centuries.^[45]

International centuries[link]

Test centuries

Virat Kohli's Test centuries
#	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year	Result
1	116	213	11	1	Australia	Adelaide, Australia	Adelaide Oval	2012	Australia won by 298 runs[46]

ODI centuries

Virat Kohli's ODI centuries
#	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year	Result
1	107	114	11	1	Sri Lanka	Kolkata, India	Eden Gardens	2009	India won by 7 wickets[47]
2	102*	95	11	0	Bangladesh	Mirpur, Bangladesh	Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium	2010	India won by 6 wickets[48]
3	118	121	11	1	Australia	Visakhapatnam, India	ACA-VDCA Stadium	2010	India won by 5 wickets[49]
4	105	104	10	0	New Zealand	Guwahati, India	Nehru Stadium	2010	India won by 40 runs[50]
5	100*	83	8	2	Bangladesh	Mirpur, Bangladesh	Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium	2011	India won by 87 runs[51]
6	107	93	9	1	England	Cardiff, Wales	SWALEC Stadium	2011	England won by 6 wickets[52]
7	112*	98	16	0	England	Delhi, India	Feroz Shah Kotla	2011	India won by 8 wickets[53]
8	117	123	14	0	West Indies	Vishakapatnam, India	ACA-VDCA Stadium	2011	India won by 5 wickets[54]
9	133*	86	16	2	Sri Lanka	Hobart, Australia	Bellerive Oval	2012	India won by 7 wickets[55]
10	108	120	7	0	Sri Lanka	Mirpur, Bangladesh	Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium	2012	India won by 50 runs[56]
11	183	148	22	1	Pakistan	Mirpur, Bangladesh	Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium	2012	India won by 6 wickets[57]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Player profile: Virat Kohli from ESPNcricinfo
• Player profile: Virat Kohli from CricketArchive