“Virat Kohli is the best batsman across all formats. He is from another planet,” says Michael Vaughan. But what if his humorous words to describe the world’s fiercest batsman are actually true?
What if Virat Kohli is an alien in a man’s suit?
Chasing 351 as the target, India were struggling at 63/4 in the first One-Dayer against England in Pune on Sunday. With the likes of MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh gone, no one gave India a chance to win the tie. Except, Virat Kohli.
The talismanic bearded Indian captain believed. He believed they were still in with a chance and what happened thereafter before the capacity crowd at the stadium is something out of the world.
Kohli smashed his way to 122 and put on a 200 runs partnership with Kedar Jadhav who contributed with a dashing 120. They made sure India were in touching distance of the total and then Ravichandran Ashwin and Hardik Pandya did the needful.
But the way Kohli batted only a non-human entity could have done something like that. Let’s have a look why?
#1 His sheer numbers defy logic
Virat Kohli broke records left, right and centre in his epic knock of 122. First, he surpassed the great Sachin Tendulkar’s 14 tons in successful run chases. Kohli now has fifteen. It was also his 17th ODI hundred while in pursuit of a total.
In total at age 28, he already has 27 One-Day tons from 169 innings. Yes, 169. Tendulkar did it in 254 innings, Ricky Ponting in 308 and Sanath Jayasuriya in 404 knocks. Kohli’s, numbers are therefore staggering and frightening for bowlers around the world. At the rate which he is going nothing seems impossible.
He himself believes he cannot stick around for the time frame that Tendulkar did, but at his pace, he doesn't need so much time to better the maestro’s numbers. Only aliens can be this consistent.
#2 When was the last time he scored a duck?
You all must be knowing the last time Kohli scored a duck right? No? Well, I did not remember it either. In ODIs, it was in August 2014 at Cardiff, during a dismal tour of England where he showed traces of being a human.
Maybe the alien in him had some urgent work to attend during that tour. The poor form continued in the 2015 World Cup where he was good in patches but failed to live up to the occasion in the semi-finals against Australia.
India lost and it hurt Kohli and maybe the alien just decided to come back and reside in the host again. He hasn’t had a lean series from then on.
#3 Some of his shots are just out of the world
Did you watch the India-England game in Pune? What was your shot of the match? Well, without much doubt it would be Kohli’s six against Chris Woakes. A shot which defies the laws of physics. Kohli had no room whatsoever to free his arms but he still managed to clear the fence with an uppish drive.
Watch Kohli’s unbelievable six here
Another shot which was quite out of the world was his wristy flick against David Willey in the sixth over. Kohli danced down the track and slammed the length ball into the stands with just a flick of his strong wrists. Believe me, only, Kohli can do that with such aplomb.
Then there were his ground strokes. If as a kid you were watching, that is how cover drives are played in cricket textbooks.
#4 His brain is like a supercomputer and body like a well-oiled machine
His brain works at the speed of knots. He knows exactly when to take the risks, when to push for singles and when to play the dot balls. With Kohli, one is never too far from the asking rate.
It is like he can see everything in the future. As if he knows what the bowler is going to do in the next delivery. This is only superhumanly possible.
Also, have you seen a fitter cricketer than Kohli? Yes, there are the Warner’s and the Maxwell’s but surely the Indian captain is a notch above the rest. He is athletic and is lighting fast between the wickets.
Ask Kedhar Jadhav how it’s like running with Kohli and he might just throw his bat at you for Kohli almost ran the life out of his partner in the Pune game against England.
When at the post-match presentation, Jadhav was asked about it, he managed a smile and said,” It is not easy.” Yes, humans surely cannot compete with E.T’s (Extra-Terrestrials)
#5 It’s like Kohli bats on concrete pitches
David Willey cleaned up KL Rahul with a delivery which swung in late in the first ODI at Pune. He also beat the edges of the Indian batsmen a couple of times but not Kohli’s. When the star Indian No.3 bats it looks like he is playing on those concrete pitches that you play on as a kid.
These pitches help the ball come on to the bat without much off spin or lateral movement. The same happens when Kohli is batting. Even on tricky surfaces like the Eden Gardens (Kohli helped India beat Pakistan in World T20 2016), the ball finds the middle of his broad willow.
Like aliens, it seems Kohli too has the power to change his surroundings according to his needs.
P.S- We have Anushka Sharma’s liking for aliens too as proof! (Read PK).
But on a serious note when Kohli, was in Eden Gardens in 2015 before flying off to Bangladesh, I saw him closely and had a handshake. It felt very real.
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