Kolkata: Over 4.4: India versus New Zealand – Corey Anderson is the bowler as Virat Kohli shuffles to cover his off-stump and flicks the ball past mid-on, a brilliant on-drive all along the ground for four. It almost makes up for the one he had played two deliveries ago, cutting one that had offered some extra width, playing it in the air even as it went past the fielder at short third-man.
When faced with pressure, Virat Kohli runs to keep scoreboard ticking and slowly build up the innings. APWhen faced with pressure, Virat Kohli runs to keep scoreboard ticking and slowly build up the innings. AP
Over 12.1: India versus Pakistan – A game beyond the arch-rivalry, it is a must-win match for the Men in the Blue to stay in the tournament. Six overs to go, and the required-rate is just a shade over six. Shahid Afridi bowls and there is a blur. Kohli is in position quickly. His bat wafts with such speed that you blink and miss, only to see a perfect follow-through. It is a flicker, a cover drive beyond par, and another boundary. The match turns in India’s favour.
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These two innings – 23 off 27 balls (2 fours) and 55* off 37 balls (7 fours, 1 six) – have a bit of resemblance about them. They came on turning tracks -- the second one tougher than the first -- a glaring weakness in the current Indian batting. More importantly, these runs were scored when the top-order was crumbling around Kohli.
“I like chasing targets, I break them down and do calculations of overs, wickets and runs,” he has said on umpteen occasions. Batting, though, isn’t just about mathematics. He made those two raging pitches look benign as long as he was in the middle, and the common denominator here is Kohli’s heightened awareness about the match situation.
Against New Zealand, he realized the ascendancy of the spinners and jousted with them for control even as India lost wickets at the other end. For 18 deliveries after that second four off Anderson, Kohli didn’t hit another boundary. Instead, he ran hard between the wickets. If you are looking for the answer to how he looks to builds his limited overs’ knocks, this is it.
“Most batsmen try to hit out when pressure is building up,” said skipper MS Dhoni after the win against Pakistan. “Instead, the best option is to take a single and go to the other end, because that helps you stay calm. It is also adding to the score because you are playing to your strengths, playing around the field and batting a good number of deliveries. That is what Virat’s batting is all about.”
Against Pakistan, it was the hallmark of his innings. Not only in Kolkata but the one in Dhaka in the Asia Cup as well, when India were struggling to chase down a paltry 83 runs. Roll back his innings and this is what you find: the first 16 deliveries he faced brought 6 runs, and again, he ran all of them. He was willing enough to see out Mohammad Amir’s spell, yet at the same time, didn’t cower to his bowling.
As Dhoni defined it, Kohli plays to his strengths. There was a flick off his hips and then a cover drive immediately after. Two boundaries, after he had faced almost three overs. At Eden Gardens, in conditions completely different to Dhaka, he mirrored the same excellence. This ability to transcend diverse situations is what sets him apart.
Does it always work out to plan though? No, for a man can only do so much when the entire line-up’s dependency is increasing every innings. The match balance can force some shots, even if you have tried to cut them out.
In Nagpur, he had settled into running mode when Ish Sodhi came up to bowl in the 8th over. A little width outside off and he went for an expansive drive only to be caught behind, disappointment writ large on his face. He knew the game had turned. In Kolkata, another top-order collapse and the situation demanded something similar. But the real opposition this time around came from the pitch.
How do you counter a wicket where the ball is turning square? Where the pace bowlers can throw off-cutters at 135-140 clicks and that becomes more dangerous than the swinging ball? Again, Kohli ran.
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