21 innings that made me fall in love with Virat Kohli
#2- 107 vs Sri Lanka,4th ODI, SL tour of India 2009,Eden Gardens,Kolkata
We all have had times in our lives when the situation demanded us to be tough; when our palms were sweaty and our hearts were racing. Where we had a point to prove and a statement to make.These are life defining situations and the choices we make then actually builds our character. Many succumb to the pressure and many thrive in it. You can be a really good cricketer and have all the skills in the book but what will make you great is how you perform in situations where the odds aren’t in your favour. And Virat Kohli is easily the greatest cricketer our generation has witnessed solely because adverse conditions bring out the best in him and that is exactly what makes him a hero.
You would never want to bat first against a team that has Virat Kohli. Scoring centuries is an art Virat Kohli has mastered in his career spanning over 11 years. He is a run machine and when it comes to chasing high totals under high pressure, nobody does it better than him. He made sure the world knew that in no time. Out of 43 centuries that Kohli has under his belt in ODIs, 26 have come batting second and only 7 of them have ended in a losing cause. The numbers are staggering.This is the story of the very first hundred out of 70 that he currently has, which to no one’s surprise came while India was in trouble chasing a huge total of 316.
You would never want to bat first against a team that has Virat Kohli. Scoring centuries is an art Virat Kohli has mastered in his career spanning over 11 years. He is a run machine and when it comes to chasing high totals under high pressure, nobody does it better than him. He made sure the world knew that in no time. Out of 43 centuries that Kohli has under his belt in ODIs, 26 have come batting second and only 7 of them have ended in a losing cause. The numbers are staggering.This is the story of the very first hundred out of 70 that he currently has, which to no one’s surprise came while India was in trouble chasing a huge total of 316.
The fourth odi of Sri Lanka’s tour of India in 2009 was held at Eden Gardens, one of the most iconic cricketing venues in the world and also a personal favourite. India led the 5 match series 2-1. Sri Lanka had to do all things right to keep the series alive. The guests won the toss and elected to bat first. Banking on Upul Tharanga’s century (118) and Sangakkara’s 60, Sri Lanka put up a mammoth total of 315 on the board. Suranga Lakmal, who had made his debut earlier in the series gave India two major setbacks within the first four overs of their innings, picking up the wickets of Sehwag and Sachin. In no time India were 23-2. In walks the 21 years old brash Virat Kohli to join his delhi teammate Gautam Gambhir. Kohli opened his account with a beautiful flick into the leg side on the fourth ball he faced.Together with Gambhir he put up a record partnership of 224 runs for the third wicket. In the middle overs,instead of attacking,Sri Lanka waited for one of them to make a mistake but as fate may have it, they made none.One of the most remarkable thing about Kohli’s batting is his ability to rotate strike. That way, he eliminates the risk of having to play risky shots and keeps the run rate in check at the same time taking the pressure off his partner. Out of the 224 runs they put up together, they ran 125. And Kohli’s batting was as eye pleasing as it could get, with beautiful footwork, punches off the backfoot and incredible running between the wicket, he seemed to be in full command of his innings leaving no room for error.
When Kohli was on 99, the spidey cam zoomed on his face and what struck me the most was his eyes. His chubby face had the most sincere eyes, unfazed, in a completely different zone altogether. His thick eyebrows frowned a little and he did that iconic Virat kohli bat spin before he took the stance.I wonder what he was thinking. Was he nervous? Probably was. You could almost feel the adrenaline rush through his entire body. Of course, maiden international century is always special. You dream of this moment as a kid playing cricket and to actually be out there in the middle just a run away, I could feel the chills even though I was just watching it on the television. He hits it to the fielder on mid-on, takes the hundredth run for the first time ever and the emotions that followed are imprinted in my memory. His first was also one of his best centuries ever. Shortly after getting the century, Kohli mistimed a shot over long on and got caught just inside the boundary. But he had already played his part. Gambhir on the other hand stayed till the end and made sure India were comfortably home.
When Kohli was on 99, the spidey cam zoomed on his face and what struck me the most was his eyes. His chubby face had the most sincere eyes, unfazed, in a completely different zone altogether. His thick eyebrows frowned a little and he did that iconic Virat kohli bat spin before he took the stance.I wonder what he was thinking. Was he nervous? Probably was. You could almost feel the adrenaline rush through his entire body. Of course, maiden international century is always special. You dream of this moment as a kid playing cricket and to actually be out there in the middle just a run away, I could feel the chills even though I was just watching it on the television. He hits it to the fielder on mid-on, takes the hundredth run for the first time ever and the emotions that followed are imprinted in my memory. His first was also one of his best centuries ever. Shortly after getting the century, Kohli mistimed a shot over long on and got caught just inside the boundary. But he had already played his part. Gambhir on the other hand stayed till the end and made sure India were comfortably home.
India ended up winning the match by 7 wickets with 11 balls to spare. Gautam Gambhir was adjourned the Man of the match for his brilliant knock of 150* but he said he can not receive it and handed it over to Virat instead. That gesture was very touching and specially very encouraging for a youngster who was still to make a mark in world cricket. Their relationship did get very bitter later but that’s another story to tell. Even though this was just his first century, everybody who saw him knew they had witnessed something really really special and Kohli made sure he doesn’t let anybody down
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