Virat Kohli’s batting manual is a hub of cut-and-thrust activity, and it starts from the time chants of “Kohli, Kohli, Kohli” resonate through the length and breadth of a stadium. At the Dubai International Stadium, there weren’t just chants, but some of the fans also bowed down to ‘King Kohli’ as he made his way out to the middle. After sprinting to the crease, there is usually a bit of shadow practice — perfecting the alignment, such as head position and front shoulder.
All of it was visible at the Dubai Stadium as he took strike at the fall of Rohit Sharma’s wicket in the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy encounter. And it was the second ball of his innings that made Vaibhav Tripathi and I, the two colleagues, wonder whether it would be Kohli’s night. Naseem Shah drifted one onto the pads and Kohli neatly flicked that back of a length delivery to fine leg.
These days, pace bowlers are conscious about not offering anything on the pads to Kohli. However, four of Kohli’s first five runs were all through the on-side. It was poor from Pakistan, but it acted as the perfect tonic for Kohli to regain his confidence. When he pinched his second double of the innings, Kohli also provided a glimpse of the third chapter of his batting manual—the vigour and vitality associated with his running between the wickets. He had left Shubman Gill, 10 years his younger, gasping a bit for breath as he stole another run.
That is all fine, but wasn’t Kohli struggling for form? So, how did he chart a comeback? Behind the scenes, away from all the zoomed in cameras, it was Kohli’s training workshop that turned out to be the foundation stone of his hundred. More than 90 minutes before any of his teammates arrived at the practice session ahead of the India-Pakistan game, Kohli had decided to iron out his flaws, especially against spin.
When Abrar Ahmed, Pakistan’s lone frontline spinner, was introduced into the attack, Kohli did land the occasional punch and cut off the back foot. And that helped us to gauge the fact that Kohli was picking the length better. When required, he was also well forward. The counterargument to it could be that Kohli didn’t face a traditional leg-spinner or a left-arm orthodox spinner, but on a track that was stopping a bit, Kohli’s judgment was good.
In the 21st over, there was another bit of action that would have gladdened the hearts of millions of Indian cricket team’s fans – The pull stroke off Haris Rauf. The Pakistan fast bowler did bend his back and extracted good height on his bouncer. But Kohli used the depth of the crease and kept the pull down by rolling his wrists. That he essayed a fine back-foot shot once more substantiated the point of Kohli picking the length early. Although his detractors might still point out that he didn’t play shots square or behind square on the off-side.
When Kohli was in the 90s, there were a few anxious moments as to whether the Indian talisman would complete his 51st ODI hundred. However, with a boundary off Khushdil Shah, he didn’t just steer India past the finish line but also reached the three-figure mark. There was a sense of calmness in his eyes as he looked heavenwards and raised his bat after taking off his helmet.
It may not have been a vintage Virat Kohli innings. But a great player knows how to compile a ton or pick up five wickets without appearing great for parts of the game. That is also a part of a genius sportsperson’s gene. Kohli did exactly that against his favourite opponent. And the cornerstone of Kohli tightening up some loose nuts and bolts in his batting machine was the work ethic that he showed during the net session before the game.
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