Cometh the hour, cometh the absolute beldam, it all boiled down to one man, his sheer charisma and persistence. Kohli’s unbeaten innings on Sunday was perhaps the watershed moment for him and team India
On the 23rd of October a day before the Onset of Diwali In India, one man illuminated the hearts and minds of the Indian audience. The world cup has announced itself staggeringly, most fans have yet barely recovered from the flabbergasting, nerve-wrecking, and compelling encounter between teams who epitomize the rivalry in cricket. Before the commencement of the word, there was genuine skepticism amongst the Indian audience, however, the match against Pakistan revered and displayed the character of the team, and one man in particular. One man was the protagonist of the show, the stage belonged to him, the pressure of the occasion dwarfing against the aura of his absolute brilliance. It was his impetus that cemented the match to be one of the most memorable and entertaining encounters.
Team India was down and out at 31-4, with captain Rohit Sharma claiming in the press conference that India had no business winning the game from such a deplorable position. Precisely at 18.4 the probability of Pakistan winning the game was 93%. Considering that when Ashwin scooped the ball for winning runs over the cover of the last ball there was absolute pandemonium in the stadium. Indian players charged onto the pitch to coronate and facilitate the king for his decisive display in the battle, the crowd in the stadium going gala and bonkers over the victory. For a moment the celebration by the Indian audience resonated with Rama’s return to Ayodhya from exile symbolling the return of Kohli to his imperious best.
The King was out there reclaiming his lost territory consolidating the legacy that he has cemented. Kohli scored 82 unbeaten off 53 deliveries containing 6 boundaries and 4 sixes, it was statistically the highest score for an Indian against Pakistan. Kohli personified and embodied the essence of his title ‘The Chase master’. The player for the biggest of the occasion, performing in presence of over 90,000 spectators at the MCG. It was the revival of the peak Virat replicating the displays of his prime in 2018’s and 2019’s. The lean patch seems to have once and for all ended, relinquishing arguments pertaining to his twilight and dare we say people asking him to retire.
Kohli’s knock progressed based on a template from the Ms. Dhoni Playbook, calculating the situation, and taking the game deep, believing and backing your ability to prevail eventually. As Kohli revealed in his post-match commencement speech, the chase was designed through calculation.
“As Sheheen decided to Bowl from the pavilion end I realized this opportunity to seize
and transform the momentum”
The prospect of India’s revival in the game was courtesy of Muhammad Nawaz, as both Panday and Kohli capitalized on his over and made Pakistan capitulate eventually. What is a testament to Kohli’s knock is the way he controlled the pace of his innings. Kohli did not just target the right bowler, but also the stroked pragmatically as the size of MCG can be daunting for any batsman. Around 55% of Kohli’s runs were scored in the Deep midwicket, Long on region capitalizing on the size of the ground converting singles into doubles and doubles into triples.
Kohli’s strike rate by the 10th was under 100 reflected by its appalling run rate of 4.5. Kohli finished the game with a strike rate of 150 plus, exemplifying the essence of an athlete who trusts their ability to deliver under pressure. If there was ever one shot that could define a which characterized entire innings, it was Kohli’s aberrant six of Harris Rauf's 5 delivery which already could be the shot of the tournament. Virat’s place in the world cup squad for 2022, has raised a few eyebrows with critics on verge of preparing Kohli’s obituary. His form since 2018 has been inconsistent, especially in white ball cricket where pundits and observers lambasted his approach to the game declaring that Virat was either too slow or too old for the t20 format. The fiasco and the political upheaval which resulted in Kohli being stripped of his captaincy had further asserted that maybe his days in India’s international scheme were numbered.
The knock was a reminder to the cricket fraternity of Kohli’s class, experience, and sheer perseverance and pre-eminence. A struggling and fragmented Indian dressing room with several apprehensions suddenly appears united and harmonious, barring complacency team India is set to penetrate the deeper rounds of the world cup.
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