Virat Kohli: 100 not out

Cricket has been an illustrious guest that has bore witness to many a fairy-tale uprising. She has cried during the ages of turmoil and has celebrated everytime a hero came forth to dispel the darkness that had spread like children on the ground during recess. One such hero the gentleman’s game is proud to witness is Virat Kohli. When Kohli strides out to face the flamboyant West Indies side tomorrow in the Champions Trophy, he will marking his 100th ODI appearance. An exquisite stroke-maker in the truest sense of the word, protege Kohli is tipped to carry forward the golden legacy of Guru Sachin Tendulkar.

Kohli typifies a modern day cricketer – feisty, aggressive, yet calm and cool. He ticks the 3 T’s of batsmanship – Talent, technique and temperament – rather easily. Sir Viv Richards recently shared that the Indian batsman reminded him of himself, “I love watching Kohli bat. He looks to me like an individual of my own heart. I love his aggression and passion that he has”. He is indeed the brightest star in the Indian cricketing firmament. Add his electrifying fielding and occasional bowling to the mix and you get a dream cricketing package.

Virat’s father Prem Kohli was told early on that Virat had special talent and Prem was hell-bent on guiding his son to the upper echelons of Indian cricket. In a bitter-sweet twist of fate, Prem’s tragic demise served as the catalyst for his son’s success.

Tuesday, December 19th 2006

Virat Kohli is 18 years old

3am

Virat’s father, Prem Kohli, dies of brain-stoke

9am

Kohli leaves for the Feroz Shah Kotla for the third day of the Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka. His Delhi team-mates were shell-shocked to see him, telling him that he needed to be at home. But Virat wanted to bat. Resembling an ocean of equanimity amidst a raging storm, Kohli, 40 not out overnight, added another 50 to his tally to help his team save the match.

It is the mental resilience that separates the men from the boys. And Kohli had that in abundance.

Kohli’s first tryst with glory came when he led the India U19 to title triumph in Malaysia in 2008. There has been no looking back since then. He gradually rose to become the Indian middle order’s pillar of strength, across multiple formats.

In 99 games, Kohli has compiled 4085 runs at a shade under 50. Suresh Raina, who has 61 caps more, is still eight runs behind the Delhi dasher. Kohli has hit 13 tons already, to Rohit Sharma’s two. The latter, who debuted two years before Kohli, is yet to even cement his spot in the side. Yuvraj Singh, India’s World Cup superstar, said, “Kohli’s work ethic is brilliant, his focus is immense. I wished and wondered why I did not have his work ethic when I was his age.”

Playing staggering knocks became a habit for Virat. His whirlwind 86-ball 133 helped India to overhaul Sri Lanka’s imposing 320 inside 40 overs. With it, the Men in Blue gained an oxygen-like bonus point to stay alive in the tri-nation tournament in Australia. Kohli treated Lasith Malinga with contempt as if the Sri Lankan was a nets bowler.

Malinga’s figures of 7.4-0-96-0 indicated Kohli’s dominance. Less than a month later, Kohli powered his way to a blistering 183 off 148 balls against arch-rivals Pakistan in a do-or-die clash in Asia Cup as India scripted their highest successful ODI run-chase.

Indian cricket, though, found itself on cross-roads like never before. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman hung up their wonderfully worn boots, runs and reflexes had slowed down drastically for the ageing Tendulkar. The Englishmen, baying for blood, embarked upon their tour of India with high intensity. England ended their 28-year wait to secure a Test win but India found their second wall in Cheteshwar Pujara and a middle order lifeguard in Kohli.

Kohli’s determination was as evident as broad daylight during his 99 in the drawn final Test at Nagpur. All question marks regarding his Test match skills were laid to rest. He had earlier constructed a solid 75 on a treacherous Perth pitch, albeit in a losing cause. He continued to pull the chest nuts out of fire down under, scoring a memorable century at Melbourne, even as the much vaunted seniors failed miserably.

Winning the ‘ICC ODI cricketer of the year’ award remains the jewel in Kohi’s crown. Considering Kohli is only in his early twenties, it is dizzying to wonder how far he can go.