The arms went up, a feisty punch in the air was next before he quickly shifted to a half squat position and let it all out with a loud grunt. It meant a lot. It clearly meant a lot to the run-machine who has scored runs by the tons, but this felt different. Unlike the sedate celebrations, which have now become a new normal for him, Virat Kohli couldn’t hold back his emotions when he sent one over the ropes to bring up his 48th ODI hundred and only his third in World Cups.
At one point in the chase, when India were 229/3 at the end of 38 overs, it didn’t look like he would breach the three-figure mark. The Men in Blue needed 28 for victory and Kohli needed 27 for a hundred. With some support from KL Rahul, who was happy to watch action from the other end and only took a couple of singles in the period, Kohli got to the magical number and soaked it all in after a celebration which hit different and felt different.
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Not once in the chase he looked desperate to get there but when it looked within reach, he badly wanted it. In his previous 29 ODI World Cup outings, Kohli scored plenty of fifties (eight), but had only two hundreds. One of which came against the same opposition back in the 2011 edition. So after that 2011 knock, there was just one World Cup hundred in between and it came against Pakistan in the 2015 World Cup. No wonder he celebrated like he did.
“I wanted to make a big contribution. I have had a few fifties in World Cups, and I have never really converted them so I just wanted to finish the game off this time around. Yeah, hang on till the end which is what I have done over the years for the team,” says Kohli after getting the man of the match award.
“Dream” start
He came close in the opening match of the World Cup vs Australia too but felt short by just 15 runs. It was a different kind of knock on a challenging surface in Chennai but the Pune innings was a breeze, and Kohli was certainly not complaining about the two free-hits which came his way early in the innings.
“I was telling Shubman [Gill] that even if you dream about a situation like that you just go back to sleep, you won’t think it is real. It was a dream start for me, first four balls two free hits a six and four, just calms you down and just gets you into the innings. The pitch was pretty good and it allowed me to play my game…just time the ball hit the gaps, run hard and get the boundaries wherever needed,” says Kohli.
The Kohli way
“My game” followed next and he eased to fifty in typical effortless fashion. From there on, it was another chase masterclass which he keeps producing match after match. That’s the beauty of Kohli in ODI run-chases as he stays ahead in the game without even trying to get ahead. Desperation rarely creeps in and there is more method and calmness than madness.
He may not be as dominating and belligerent as Rohit Sharma has been in the World Cup so far but Virat Kohli continues to be as effective as Virat Kohli, and that should be suffice for the Indian cricket team. The No.3 has looked in dropping anchor mode this edition and determined to finish games more often than not.
Bad start (read Australia game)? No problem, Kohli will soak in all the pressure and drive you home. Dominating start (read Afghanistan)? No problem, Kohli will breeze past the target with a run-a-ball fifty. Fluent start (read Bangladesh)? No problem, Kohli can step on the accelerator too and land a dominating punch.
In three chases, three different Kohlis were on exhibition but all had the same goal of seeing the side home. And when it happened in Pune on Thursday, skipper Rohit Sharma was waiting to congratulate his star batter near the boundary ropes. A group hug, also featuring KL Rahul, followed and three were all smiles celebrating another emphatic win – fourth on the trot.
“There is a great atmosphere in the change room. We are loving each other’s company, the spirit is for everyone to see off the field, that’s why it is translating like that on the field. We understand it is a long tournament and you need to create some momentum in the change room for the guys to come out and play like this. It’s a special feeling playing at home, playing in front of all these people so we just want to make the most of it,” says Kohli while summing up mood in the dressing room.
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