Self confidence, often mistaken for arrogance by some, is the key to understanding Virat Kohli. “He might appear flamboyant but he has great peripheral vision,” Sachin Tendulkar had once said. “He can read the game brilliantly and can anticipate what is likely to happen five or six overs down the line. That’s what makes him different from many of his contemporaries.”
Did Sachin mean that Virat has a great sense of how an innings is poised and how to pace his own knock? In other words, was Sachin crediting him with some kind of cricketing prescience? “He reads a game very well,” he said. “That’s why he is so good in a run chase. He knows and understands where a match can be and that helps him marshal his resources accordingly.”
This was yet again evident at the Eden Gardens last night. Phil Salt had started to pepper the boundaries and Kohli knew KKR were under pressure. And when Salt attacked Varun Chakravarthy, Ajinkya Rahane had no other option but to go back to Spencer Johnson. In fact, it was when Varun bowled the fourth ball of his first over that Rahane gestured to Johnson that he would be on next. Johnson had bowled a neat first over and KKR desperately needed a wicket.
Kohli, however, knew this was his chance. If Johnson was attacked, the powerplay was won and there was no way back for KKR. And that’s what he did. The very first ball of Johnson’s second over and Kohli was on to it in a flash. As the ball sailed over the boundary ropes, chants of “RCB! RCB!” and “Kohli! Kohli!” started to reverberate around the stadium. KKR were under pressure and it started to tell. Johnson, with a slight shake of the head, ran in again and this time Kohli was even better prepared. It was as if he knew where Johnson would bowl, and even before the bowler could lift his head up after delivering the ball, the shot had crossed the rope. That was game, set and match RCB. Johnson and KKR had been beaten, and between Salt and Kohli, they had sealed the match.
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Narendra Hirwani, former India leg-spinner, was watching the game with me. “Each time Virat bats, I just love to sit on my sofa and enjoy the experience,” he told me. “He is the sort of player who will bring fans to the ground each time he plays.”
But the Kohli-RCB story, despite the sheer scale of his achievements, isn’t complete yet. It is the IPL title they are after and the start, may I say, was perfect.
Much will be written about Kohli’s effort from last night. But will it matter to him how we label him? Does Kohli, the person, really care? I guess he doesn’t, for he is at peace with himself in his gym, at training, in his marriage and, most importantly, over the 22 yards. A passionate human robot with single-minded determination. The 70,000 fans at the Eden Gardens witnessed it yet again last night.
And yes, while many went home sad with KKR having lost, not one fan I met was unhappy with Kohli having played a match-winning hand. KKR may have lost but the IPL won with a blockbuster start, and the broadcaster now has enough to make multiple promos all of next month. The two sixes off Johnson – Kohli goes down the ground, Kohli goes out of the ground. The aftertaste lingers.
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