The swashbuckling, zealous Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli, who initially started off as a U-19 World Cup winning captain in 2008, is today the Test captain of the Indian team today. He is unarguably the best batsman in the world right now, ranking first in the ICC T20 rankings and second only to AB de Villiers in One Day Internationals. But there is something different about Kohli's dominance right now – it doesn't look likely to ever end!
At 18, Kohli started off as a brash Delhi lad, who received a lot of flak for his in-your-face behaviour. This was a time when he had just come into the limelight, getting signed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the opening season of the Indian Premier League. Playing for a high-profile franchise at that young age, he didn't have the maturity to handle all the popularity and praise that came along, which is probably why he couldn't set the league ablaze in those early days.
Kohli made his International debut in the ODI against Sri Lanka on 18 August 2008 and has worked on improving his temperament ever since. After his impressive start in the ODIs, the right-hander was selected in the T20 side for India’s tour of Zimbabwe in 2010. He showed the world what he is made of, scoring 558 runs in 18 innings in the next two years, and was a regular in the side thereafter.
He well and truly announced his arrival to the cricketing world in 2011, with a brilliant ODI average of 47.62 in 34 innings in the year.
Kohli had always spoken about representing India in the purest format of the game and he finally got the opportunity to do so in 2011, in the West Indies. He did not have a great start in Test Cricket, but had a breakaway tour Down Under in 2012, scoring his debut Test century against Australia at the Adelaide Oval. The Australian conditions have always favoured his batting style, and his statistics of 992 runs in 16 innings at an average of 62.00, including a highest score of 169, prove the same.
The ‘Purple Patch’
Kohli’s first ‘purple patch’ came in the 2014 season when he scored a mammoth 1,054 runs in a mere 20 innings at an astonishing average of 58.55. However, his ODI performances in 2015 saw a considerable dip as he averaged 36.64 in the 20 innings he played that year.
Then came the year 2016. To be honest, every cricketer gets a purple patch in his career at some point or the other. But Kohli’s run of spectacular form has been intact for a staggering five months now. Nothing seems to be stopping the confident, determined and dedicated cricketer, who has impressive stats in every continent, against every world-class team.
Every cricketer’s scintillating form has a shelf-life, but Kohli seems to be an exception. Nothing comes easy, and he has made loads of changes in his lifestyle. A guy who was once known as a party enthusiast, has now worked himself into a fitness freak.
Kohli has worked proactively in the last one year to reach this mind-boggling level of fitness, with constant monitoring from his physical trainer, Mr. Shankar Basu. With his fitness in check, injuries have not been a hurdle in his career in recent times.
The ease with which he takes the quick ones and twos in between the wickets is also a reflection of his incredible fitness regime. This has been a major reason in him reaching triple-digit figures much more comfortably and consistently than the others.
Commentators have applauded Kohli time and again for his ability to put immense pressure on the bowlers and opponents with his quick running between the wickets.
Law of averages?!
The most praise-worthy aspect of Kohli's batting has been his uncanny ability to score big by playing traditional shots. He is one of the few cricketers who make a conscious effort to play orthodox cricket.
"I see that they [teams] have plans outside the off stump for me and they keep two fielders on the boundary straight away. They want me to do something stupid. At that point, you need to understand that they want you out.
“They would rather not have you batting on 15 off 20 balls because they know that once you get in you will cash in later," Kohli told iplt20.com.
“I don't mind playing run-a-ball for the first 20-25 balls because I know that I can get 40-45 runs in the next 15 balls. Now I believe more in my ability to hit sixes or pick gaps for boundaries in the final overs", he added.
Kohli has been one of the most reliable batsmen in the Indian team, owing to his conventional and clean shot selection. He plays safe cricket, and that is why he does not choke under pressure, and almost never throws away his wicket trying to pull off a fancy shot.
They say the law of averages catches up to everyone. But how can it, when you didn't give it a chance to? Kohli's success in the game is a result of the way he times his innings and strategically takes risks. He leaves nothing up to chance, and that is why he rarely, if ever, has an ‘off-day’.
“I want to build my innings in the same way every time I go in to bat. Once you start taking the sport and your form for granted, a bad patch comes in and it makes you chase after every single run," Kohli said.
The Indian batting star has been in a picturesque form right since the beginning of 2016. Having played continuous T20 cricket in the past 5 months, starting from India’s tour of Australia, there is still no sign of exhaustion in the player who seems to have a never-dying hunger for runs.
Kohli averages an impeccable 125.00 in T20I this year, with a highest score of 90*, including seven fifties. And we are only half-way through 2016.
His batting glory has continued even in the ongoing Indian Premier League, a tournament he entered with no centuries in any of the previous seasons. He now has four centuries in a single season, and is the only batsman to do so.
Kohli now holds the record for the highest run-getter in any season of the IPL and is also the favourite contender for the Orange Cap this year. He has scored a staggering 865 runs in just 13 innings, at an unreal average of 86.50 and a breathtaking strike-rate of 155.01.
If these stats are not enough to blow your mind, Kohli has four centuries and five fifties in 13 games. The law of averages simply does not apply to this legend of the game!
Virat Kohli’s stats in 2016
| Format | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike-rate | Highest Score | Hundreds | Fifties |
| ODI | 5 | 381 | 76.20 | 99.21 | 117 | 2 | 2 |
| T20I | 12 | 625 | 125.00 | 139.50 | 90* | 0 | 7 |
| IPL | 13 | 865 | 86.50 | 155.01 | 113 | 4 | 5 |
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