ICC World Twenty20: Dazzling Kohli steers India into semis
MOHALI: Kohli — Virat, dependable, unstoppable, undaunted. MS Dhoni - cool, collected, sure-footed, bullet-fast — the two saved a billion lives yet again to push Team India into the semifinals of the T20 World Cup.
Coming on the head of scratchy performances by openers, a cramped up Yuvraj in the middle and a listless Suresh Raina, the victory had amazement and doggedness written all over it. It was the best among the three struggles India got into - even better than the one-run win over Bangladesh, because this was Australia — all fiery and capable — that Kohli's kaleidoscopic display of excellence shoved aside, in the end with consummate ease.
The rising star scored 82 runs in 51 balls,hitting nine boundaries and 2 sixes to finish off the match with five balls to spare. In the last but one over, he pressed on the accelerator to score 16 runs with two boundaries and a six.But what was most delightful was the way he paced his innings. He stared down pressure and cheap ousters of mates ahead of him. He kept his shots grounded. He showed yeomen patience when Yuvraj was hobbling uncontrollably. He steered the good ones from Aussie bowlers for ones and twos with the seasoning of a perfect cocktail. And, he sported such immense calmness that even the Australians fell too much in awe of him to even think of sledging.
In the end, it was the unbeaten 67-run partnership off 31 balls between Kohli and Dhoni that took away the match and the semifinal berth from the mighty Australians — Faulkner, Watson and Zampa notwithstanding.
India completed the target of 160 runs with five balls to spare and with a sound boundary from the skipper.
This was the moment that Kohli showed his first and only sign of cracking up. He sank to the ground in such apparent relief that not just Dhoni but the entire 40000 crowd could be heard heaving the same way.
As fights to the finish go, this one is for folklore, the one that the West Indies would be troubled about all the way in Mumbai. For now, the dazzling Kohli show will hide the worrisome tear in India's batting line-up, for now it would be politically incorrect to speak about the obvious, for now it is okay to sleep on the trouble spots. But, only for this night. Because, tomorrow is yet another day - sadly with the same old story of Shikhar Dhawan being in the pits, Rohit Sharma walking cheaply, Yuvraj struggling and Raina being rippleless.
How and why this is happening continues to baffle. Till how long the skipper and his able lieutenant will be able to stitch this gaping hole upfront is a question even Dhoni's cool countenance would be hesitating to ask.
As he - and the rest of the nation - wonders what will happen next, today is for wonderment about just one man - Virat Kohli and his maximised reputation of being the best bat in the world.
And as one signs off, a special mention of Indian bowlers is warranted. Despite being pasted all over the boundary in the earlier overs, what with Bumrah going for 17 runs in his first, what with Ashwin being in the rare fix of being hit for consecutive sixes, what with Pandya spraying 15 runs in the last over — they managed to restrict the Aussies to 160 when all seemed set for a 200 total. Ashish Nehra, who broke the first partnership and returned with a skimpy 5-run-an-over average, was the star of the earlier innings. But the grand finale was Virat Kohli, Man of the Moment, Man of the Match and on way to becoming the Player of the Tournament.
Source: The Pioneer, March 28, 2016
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