Phew! the wait was finally over. India’s most trusted run-machine returned to his usual self with a monstrous hundred that not only shattered a plethora of records but was more of a sigh of relief for fans of Indian cricket. The former Indian skipper is beyond any doubt, one of the greatest ever to grace the field and his tally of milestones speaks for themselves. But in the past 2 years, when the chase master was going through a slump, a question slowly crept into our minds, are we witnessing the decline of the master?
In that time period, Kohli relinquished his T20I and Test captaincy and got replaced as the ODI skipper. His stint at the helm of affairs might have ended on quite an unceremonious note, with his fans divided but Kohli appeared unfazed. Many prominent pundits even debated whether he still is worthy of the position in the team as the drought of runs continued.
Rediscovery of the vintage mojo
Apart from the 2014 England series, Kohli had rarely seen such a loss of form in his entire career. He often got starts and none of them fared well to be a big one. With the WT20 and ODI WC lined up in the next 2 years, the heat was on the master to prove his mettle once again. Ahead of the Asia Cup in UAE, Virat decided to take a break from the game and that was the point that changed the journey ahead. He even addressed his mental stress plus invited more people to talk freely about their mental state.
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All eyes were on him, as the Asia Cup was more of a do-or-die platform for the batting wizard to stand tall to his reputation once again. With two back-to-back fifties against Hong Kong and Pakistan, signs were clear that a stellar turnaround is just around the corner. But it was in the last encounter against Afghanistan when the rampant show of strength was staged. Against the likes of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb, Kohli unleashed a blitzkrieg across the park.
Kohli’s 71st hundred: In numbers
- The former India skipper equalled Aussie veteran Ricky Ponting’s tally of 71 centuries and is only behind Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar in the list of batters with the most number of centuries in international cricket.
- Kohli became the second Indian cricketer to hit more than 100 sixes in T20Is.
- Kohli’s knock of 122 is the highest score by an Indian batsman in a T20I match.
- Overall, his ton in Dubai was his 6th century in T20s, and quite interestingly all of them came when he opened the innings for his side.
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Opening the innings alongside KL Rahul, he went berserk against all Afghan bowlers. He swept, drove and pulled – he came, saw and conquered. Fans who were mourning India’s lacklustre performance in the tournament, cheered in joy to see the return of the king!
The class stays permanent
In a majestic display of a batting masterclass, Kohli struck his maiden T20I century in his knock of 122* off 61 deliveries. When the second delivery of the penultimate over was dispatched into the stands, Indian cricket fans finally witnessed the scene that they had been longing for so long.
“Today, I think he will be five kilos less. Don’t ask me where the weight has gone from, five kilos less at least from the head. You could see from the last 40 runs of his innings. It was Virat Kohli. His trade mark shots, the confidence, the poise, the utter disdain for bowling is back. It took a long time coming,”
Former India coach Ravi Shastri’s remarks on Kohli’s 71st century
However, unlike his usual fiery celebration with a roar, Kohli had the most pleasing smile on his face as even he knew that the bad days are finally over. The visual of him waving his willow with an Indian fan bowing down to the master’s greatness will definitely go down as one of the most memorable pictures from a cricket match.
Social media erupted and rejoiced Kohli’s 71st international century celebrating Kohli 2.0. His timely return to form does make India a way more dangerous batting unit and if India dreams to end its jinx in the ICC events, Kohli will definitely be the warrior in front.
