Virat Kohli’s 153 was not his best but the timing was immense

The captain’s century reminds one of the 169 that the great Sachin Tendulkar had made in Cape Town 21 years ago, also as the skipper. The knock was a statement against the odds. It was in the 1996-97 season. India had embarked on a reciprocal tour of South Africa after beating the Proteas 2-1 in an intensely fought Test series at home as well as in the final of a triangular series which had Australia as the third team.

Led by a young captain in Sachin Tendulkar, the Indian team was expected to put up a decent fight in the away tour also comprising three Tests and a triangular tournament also featuring Zimbabwe. But to every ardent fan’s horror, Tendulkar’s first-ever away series had a devastating start at the bouncy Kingsmead in Durban. India were bowled out for 100 and 66 in the two innings by a strong South African bowling attack that had the likes of Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock and Lance Kluesener, losing the match by a mammoth margin. It was a critical juncture for India as well as their young captain on whom a billion had reposed their faith.

The deep bruises that India had suffered at Kingsmead were considered a national humiliation and only one man, as it was always in those days (Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly were yet in their early days in international cricket), could assure the country that all was well. He was Tendulkar himself and he did it in the next match in Cape Town.

No, India did not win and nor even drew the second game and lost the series after suffering yet another massive defeat. But Tendulkar’s 169 in that match was an emphatic statement and the man, who otherwise let his bat do the talking throughout his long career, even said after that innings that batting disaster doesn’t happen every day.

It was not that India did not face a disaster in that innings as Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin, the other centurion, had come together at 58 for 5, adding 222 for the sixth wicket but the captain’s remark showed how much pressure he was under after that ugly defeat in Durban.

India eventually lost the Cape Town game because of yet another batting failure in the second innings and gave away the series but Tendulkar’s 11 Test ton (it is also the first by an Indian captain in SA and also the highest Test score by an Indian there till date) came at a time when the maestro’s leadership skills came under increasing scrutiny. Tendulkar made his bat talk yet again to bury the suspicions, gracefully.

A similar script unfolded for another India captain 21 years later

Twenty-one summers later, yet another Indian captain saw a sitmilar script unfolding for himself and his team in South Africa. Virat Kohli is senior to what Tendulkar was in 1996 in terms of age and experience but he chose to do it like his predecessor, cementing the faith of a billion-strong nation on his shoulders and his team by slamming a 153 when chips were down.

The captain stood tall amid the ruins

There were several similarities between Cape Town of January 1997 and Centurion of January 2018. India were trailing 0-1 then as they are now. Kohli’s captaincy faced its first major test since he took over as a full-fledged skipper in 2015. India’s batting failed to impress in 2018 as it had in 1997 and Kohli came under criticism over the selection of the playing eleven.

A former cricketer hailing from Kohli’s own state even suggested that the latter should drop himself if he failed in the Centurion Test for he felt players in the team were getting axed far too early.

Against these backdrops, Kohli had all reasons for a nervous failure and allow his near-perfect captaincy record get ruined in a matter of just two Tests. But like Tendulkar, the current ‘God’ of Indian cricket thought otherwise. The 153 was the 21st-century version of the unforgettable 169. We don’t yet know whether Kohli made a Tendulkar-like remark after his innings that took India close to South Africa’s first innings total of 335 but his 217-ball knock was yet another powerful statement.

Kohli is not a captain who loves limiting himself to weak teams and home conditions. His 21st Test centurysta might not be his best yet but the timing of this innings could be the best for the rest of his playing days – just as the 169 had ensured that Tendulkar’s batting did not always suffer under the ‘burden of captaincy’ as it was often preached.

Kohli would rue that he had no Azharuddin to accompany him like Tendulkar but it is also true that he single-handedly ensured that India did not concede a crucial lead in the first innings – something which cost them the first game in Cape Town.

The hosts are decently placed at 90 for 2 at stumps on Day 3 despite an initial shock and it would take a special effort from both the visitors’ bowlers and batters to win the game from here. But even if India lose the match and captain Kohli tastes his first-ever series defeat (yet another similarity with Tendulkar), the gritty 153 scored in alien and hostile conditions has already placed him on a high pedestal.

The 29-year-old is too talented to be bogged down as a batsman even if his team finds itself at odds overseas and that is something the average fan of the cricket-crazy nation wouldn’t complain about. We after all love to find tragic heroes more than scrutinise defeats.

This 153 could also add a fresh new dimension to Kohli’s batting. The man has of late made scoring 200s look too easy a task. The innings in Centurion could prepare him temperamentally to carry on scoring with the tail, something that doesn’t often happen in placid home conditions.

Kohli is known for his better second innings outings, something which was not seen in case of Tendulkar. The maestro fell for just 9 in the second essay of that 1997 Test as India’s batting fell apart. At Centurion, Kohli has an opportunity to better the best in the second innings when India will be given a challenging target to chase by the Proteas.

The next two days will be interesting. Especially for Kohli, the captain.

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