Why Anushka Sharma could never be the reason behind Virat Kohli's performance in the World Cup

Kohli had a quite World Cup

After 7 consecutive wins on the trot, the defending champions failed to continue their winning streak as the 4-time world champions Australia defeated them by 95 runs in the World Cup semi final. The men in blue were asked to chase a stiff target of 329 on a batting friendly wicket at SCG, not something new for a team who have chased 300+ targets quite comfortably a lot of times. But in this match they crumbled for 233, leaving a billion hopes shattered.

India were all set for another win and all eyes were on one man. Probably it’s his name that comes first to our mind, when we hear the word ‘chase’. Yes, Virat Kohli is undoubtedly a master in chasing targets down and has scored 13 out of his 22 ODI tons while chasing. With an incredible average of 86.25 in successful run chases, it’s almost clear how much India depended on their batting spearhead in run chases.

But unfortunately he couldn’t live up to the expectations in the crucial semi final match, as his miscued pull shot ended up in the hands of Brad Haddin. He had got the better of Mitchell Johnson in the Test series, but a fierce short pitch delivery from the Aussie pacer ended the innings of the Indian vice captain.

Anushka Sharma watching Ind vs Aus match at SCG

The so called ‘Anushka Effect’

‘Dhoni : Stay there with Sharma.

And Kohli mistook the Sharma Dhoni mentioned’ – goes the ‘funny’ twitter troll against bollywood actress Anushka Sharma.

As usual, ardent Indian fans began to blame this and that for the failure of their team and unfortunately this time poor Anushka was their main target. She had been with Virat for quite a while and both of them have admitted their relationship publicly. Kohli was having an unusually quite tournament, and the matters came to a head when he got out for just 1 run in 13 balls.

For Anushka’s misfortune, she had been there in the stands cheering for her man when he was at the crease, and all of a sudden she became the reason behind Kohli’s failure in the World Cup!

Did Anushka commit a crime watching her boyfriend’s game? Or is there something seriously wrong with Indian cricket fans?

Did Kohli really have a poor tournament?

Kohli averages 50.83 in this tournament even after a couple of dismal performances against Australia and Bangladesh. Actually this shows that his performances weren’t that bad, but the expectations were just too high.

He had been getting those starts, but got out in 30’s and 40’s which was quite uncommon from him, as we look back to the old Kohli who scores a big hundred once he gets set. He probably hadn’t been at his best in this tournament, but still wasn’t very bad either.

Why Anushka Sharma could never be the reason behind Kohli’s current form

If someone thinks that Virat Kohli is an immature young man who lost his concentration and form just because of the presence of his girlfriend in the stands, then probably he hasn’t yet realized the greatness of Kohli. In a 2006 Ranji match when an 18-year-old Delhi batsman started his walk back to the pavilion after scoring a crucial 90, rival Karnataka players were in confused state of whether to celebrate his innings or his dismissal. Yes, it was Virat Kohli who had come just after his father’s sudden death, to play a wonderful knock for Delhi even before the funeral was completed.

These are his mom’s words on that incident- “Virat changed a bit after that day. Overnight he became a much more mature 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. Now, he looked like he was chasing his father’s dream which was his own too.”

That’s the determination and commitment of this man towards the game of cricket and I am pretty sure that not just Anushka Sharma, even Apsara Menaka won’t be able to deter the concentration level of a man with such temperament and dedication.

He always played cricket with great passion and intensity and has been an absolute revelation for Team India for the past couple of years. And if someone see Anushka as a sign of bad luck for Virat Kohli, that’s his problem and not Anushka’s. Such superstitious beliefs have no cure.

It wasn’t Kohli’s day, and it happens in this game. There’s no point in blaming someone else for that.

Virat Kohli scored 4 test hundred in the series against Australia

What could have really affected Kohli’s game?

It had been a tough Australian summer for the Indian team, and especially for a player like Kohli who played all 4 Test matches. It’s very demanding to play in overseas conditions like Australia and Kohli has done well to cope with that, scoring 4 hundreds in the Test series against a quality pace attack.

After such a long Test series to the World Cup – the transitions in temperament, body language and stroke play is not that easy. The highest strike rate of Kohli in this tournament was 104, the 107 he scored against Pakistan came from 126 balls – quite unusual for a player like Kohli who usually scores big hundreds at good pace once he sets himself at the crease.

Kohli is a man, not a machine. What he urgently needs now is some good rest and some quality time with his family and friends to get refreshed before the IPL starts.

Failure and success are like two sides of a coin. Instead of supporting him in his failures, blaming his girlfriend is a sign of immaturity. He is evolving and learning from his mistakes, and undoubtedly he is the future of Indian cricket. Let’s hope that he will come back with all his might in the near future itself.