He goes by the name Virat Kohli

The late Martin Crowe, himself a great batsman, also once proved that he is also a great predictor. Not many know this, but Crowe was a part of the RCB setup in 2008 when the Indian Premier League was in its infancy. Crowe’s ill-fated stint as RCB coach came to an abrupt end when he was given the sack shortly after the Challengers failed to make it beyond the contemporary last few slots on the IPL table. The prediction Crowe made was that Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Steve Smith were to change the dynamics of cricket as we knew it.

As a 15-year old, I took a keen interest in junior-level cricket. Not because I had nothing better to do, but it was the sheer fact that I loved watching younger people play. I also knew that Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and VVS Laxman wouldn’t play forever. The class of 2008 included some wonderful players in the U19 fold. They were playing in Kuala Lumpur, a city that is very close to the hearts of many Indians. The crop of players was simply phenomenal. I firmly believed that they would go on to play for India. Each and every one of them. There was Sreevats Goswami, the southpaw with a mighty bottom hand; then there was Siddharth Kaul, the man who got his bowling angles absolutely right. Who could forget Tanmay Srivastava and his aggression, gesturing the batsmen to head back to the pavilion each time he dismissed them with his wily spin.

Among the crop, was 19-year old Virat Kohli. As the skipper of the side, his leadership skills were something you simply couldn’t miss. Of course, he wasn’t your Sourav Ganguly or Kapil Dev, or perhaps even MS Dhoni for that matter. He was Virat Kohli. Leading from the front was what he specialized in, although he didn’t have an educational degree stating the same. His field placements were orthodox, yet he demanded commitment and top-class fielding. He was somewhat similar to Ricky Ponting. Aggressive yet charismatic. His players would run through a brick wall for him. Not because they are idiots, but because he wouldn’t make them do it unless he did it himself.

Vedam Jaishankar, a prominent cricket journalist wrote: “Kohli is not a powerful striker of the ball like Chris Gayle or Andre Russel. But he makes up for it with uncanny placements and quicksilver running between the wickets. In the match against Rising Pune Supergiants, one particular shot revealed his total mastery in exploiting gaps in the field. R Ashwin tried to draw him out with a wide delivery but Kohli hardly moved from his stance. He stood rock steady and then contemptuously lobbed the ball over the extra cover fielder and into the fence.”

Also check out – 12 Wonderful quotes on Virat Kohli

Fast forward to 7th May 2016. Tens of thousands of runs and almost eight years later, Kohli had transformed from the ‘Eagle scout’ to a captain and a leader. By this time, ‘Cheeku’s’ ears had folded back into his head. His hair, firmly chopped and his beard resembling that of a man who exudes discipline. In other words, he was the opposite of the Pope of the cricket universe – WG Grace. One aspect about him, however, remained right through. His eyes. It’s not the eyes of a model or someone trying to get a decent shot in the camera. Moreover, he wears a pair of spectacles whilst not playing cricket. Beyond the lenses of the black frame, lies a pair of eyes that you surely cannot miss. It’s quite effectively, the eye of the tiger.

Now, the eye of the tiger is with every batsman while he is wielding his willow blade. However, Virat Kohli is quite effectively that player who is the really big tiger and the one who will prowl on you. And more often than not, he is unstoppable.

The M Chinnaswamy Stadium isn’t the biggest of stadiums. The boundary ropes are barely 60 odd meters away from the 22-yard strip. However, as former Australian pacer Dirk Nannes says, the Bengaluru strip is certainly conducive to entertaining matches. While he has been the only player to have adorned the RCB logo on his chest since the inception of the IPL, the irresistible Virat Kohli had indeed picked his moment to shine.

40 required off 18 deliveries. It wasn’t an impossible task as far as Virat was concerned. He had done it before in the recently concluded World T20 against Australia. Moreover, he had done it with such ease that it made him seemingly take on the role of the terminator. Only this time, instead of a gun and a robot, here was a man with a cricket bat in his hand.

While MS Dhoni has always been one to take the risk with his ‘gut’ feelings, Adam Zampa was the beneficiary of the ball in the 18th over. The Aussie was a picture of acute calmness despite the pressure riding on his young shoulders. The first two deliveries and the match were back on the knife-edge. Virat Kohli had just trimmed the target from 42 to 30. Zampa’s face turned to a reddish complexion. He had just let his skipper down. A boundary and a couple of singles later, the 40,000 odd present in Bengaluru had one name on their lips. Of course, Virat Kohli had advocated them before, not to chant his name. But, how could you stop them? They had witnessed something truly special.

RP Singh, a veteran of many a T20 matches was given a rather difficult task by his captain. While the friendship of MS Dhoni and RP goes back a long way, friendship was out the window. It was time to get down to business. The business was not to just to stop Kohli, but also stop the hemorrhage of runs following. Travis Head failed to get the ball away. But it was Virat Kohli who made up for it by smashing the left-hander deep into the stands. The disappointment on the face of Dhoni almost went unnoticed. Of course, he doesn’t show emotions. However, in his head, nightmares of Virat would have perhaps been prevailing.

The Challengers went on to win the match and the unequivocal Mr. Kohli went away with yet another T20 century to his name. They might have gone away happy as larry, but one thing was clear. Virat’s brilliance on the night was not just to get his team back into contention for the playoffs spot, it was a symbolism that he is the greatest of this era. Even Viv Richards has been caught red-handed being overwhelmed at the 27-year old.

In reference to a previous post I had written on Kohli, the fact that he smashed these knocks as seamlessly as he did, coupled with the aspect that he celebrated like he had won the world cup almost made his godlike presence seem somewhat humanlike.

At the end of his knock, Isa Guha, Laxman Siva and Darren Sammy had one question: How can you stop him? Well to these three extremely accomplished cricketing greats, I have a counter question: Is he even human?

“I saw my mate the other day,

He said to me he saw Tendulkar Jr,

So I asked, who is he?

He goes by the name of Virat Kohli.”

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