In the game-winning knock against Bangladesh
The legend in batting wanted to go to the very finish and get his signature shot, but that might not be happening anytime soon.
Based on his response upon attaining his century, it was clear that Virat Kohli saw great significance in the achievement. He drove too far on 97, when India needed three wickets to win, so he declined a single. Before Kohli hit the next ball from spinner Nasum Ahmed over wide midwicket to reach his record, his teammate KL Rahul, who had just missed a century against Australia, was more than content to remain at his end.
As he walked a few paces down the pitch, Kohli raised his bat, with a beaming Mushfiqur Rahim observing closely from behind the stumps. Suddenly, emotions overcame him, and he turned, dropped his head, and let out a massive yell.
He would subsequently apologize for robbing Jaddu of the Player of the Match honor, saying, “I wanted to make a big contribution.” “I haven’t really converted, but I’ve had a few fifties in World Cups” (he had two World Cup hundreds coming into this game, one against Bangladesh and one against Pakistan). As I have done many times over the years, all I wanted to do this time was see the game through to the very conclusion.
The trademark Kohli shot, which has been absent for a while but is a vicious bottom-hand powered swat-flick that he uses to drag even outside-off deliveries from pacers to the legside boundary, may return now that he is staying to the end, as he had wished.
Given his form and rhythm in his 103 not out from 97 balls, it won’t be too long until one of the iconic strokes in contemporary cricket makes a comeback.
But Kohli has been dealing with more serious issues lately. His attention has been on a different shot. In the World Cup, Kohli has been out twice for pull shots.
He was practicing his pull a few minutes prior to the toss at the batting net, which is located on the main pitch in Pune and is clearly visible to all. A support staff member threw him balls that were high in the throat, and he hit one that went legside into the goal. It was more about getting his bat-swing perfect for the shot than it was about imitating the real short balls, which were thrown straight rather than bounced.
The TV analysts were chatting about Kohli and the pull shot even as he waited in the dugout for his time to bat. As the split-screen pictures of his and Rohit Sharma’s pull shots appeared on the large screen, he murmured to himself and smiled slyly. He was aware of the TV game being played. When the cameras refocused on him after twice cutting to him, he lowered his helmeted head and maintained the position for some time.
Signature thud
Strangely, he took a few short balls when he came to bat, right after Rohit had pulled square-leg straight. He attempted to retrieve a Mustafizur Rehman bouncer from outside off, and mishandled it gently but safely to the untenanted short mid-on region, which resulted in one uncertain moment. The other short balls, which frequently swayed away and one crunched to the midwicket boundary, didn’t cause him any problems.
Kohli handled the situation brilliantly, as always. He understood there was no point playing to the gallery without Hardik Pandya, so he concentrated on finishing the chase with little fuss. Going for maximums, particularly after the openers and Shreyas Iyer fell.
Hasan Mahmud gave him a couple of free hits, which Kohli took full advantage of to get off to an exceptionally fast start and score ten runs. From that point on, it was as if you were witnessing a replay of a Kohli knock: the frantic running, the pinging of the gaps, the deft use of angles, and the intelligence to pick out which bowler to target at what time.
He had two opportunities to execute the swat-flick, a full toss on which he was unable to snap his wrists with the same ferocity as before. Mahmud had bounced out Rohit with a slower six, but there was still a whipping six. The white ball was launched over wide and long-on by the mutant form of the flick when the bottom hand came into play, but swat-flick enthusiasts won’t count it because they are accustomed to seeing the shot against pacy deliveries much too frequently.
Perhaps, then, Kohli is simply taking less chances at this point in his career—that is, unless the circumstances call for terrifying, adrenaline-fueled shots of doom. The bowlers are in for some terrible news. With his ability to close off games, Kohli has rolled back the years, and his vicious swat-flick also appears imminent. The Kohli comeback will then truly begin.
