BENGALURU: Amid a sea of noisy spectators in Ahmedabad on Wednesday night, Virat Kohli cut a distraught, lonely figure after Royal Challengers Bengaluru‘s title hopes were again dashed on Wednesday night.
IPL ORANGE CAP | IPL PURPLE CAP
Rajasthan Royals had just handed them a four-wicket defeat in the Eliminator, and ‘King’ Kohli, broken and disappointed, was left to ponder what might have been as he walked up to the wicket and knocked over the bails.
He had done the same thing on a muggy November 19 night when Australia crushed India in the ODI World Cup final at the same venue. The gesture was, perhaps, an acceptance of finality.
Kohli was in remarkable form in that World Cup, compiling 765 runs, the most in the competition. He even picked up a rare wicket.
On Wednesday too, the Orange Cap sat well on Kohli’s head. The 35-year-old amassed a staggering 741 runs in 15 IPL matches this season, the best by a distance. Yet his individual brilliance could not take his team over the line.
The agonizing wait for a maiden IPL trophy has now stretched to 17 years. His peers, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, in contrast, have lifted the cup five times each.
For a decade now, Kohli has toiled for the IPL title, conjuring stirring fightbacks, leading from the front and silencing critics with his form rather than words. Yet, season after season, the dream has crumbled. As the brightest spark in RCB’s campaign this season, Kohli was uncharacteristically sedate at the beginning – which reflected in the side’s poor start.
Dinesh Karthik, at the back end of the batting lineup, stole the limelight. But Kohli’s class and his proven ability to stay focused amid the pandemonium came through. There was serenity as he went about rediscovering his mojo.
His hunger for runs mirrored an astonishing average of 61.75 at a strike rate of 154.69. His milestones included a century and five half-centuries. He also showcased another characteristic, that of a fielder par excellence.
Kohli 2.0 has come across as a rare breed, a cricketer who oozes talent, class and unabashed aggression. He continues to wear his heart on his sleeve and leave people awestruck with his ability to accelerate the scoring at the optimum opportunity. He makes the 8000-plus IPL runs he has scored, since joining RCB as a rookie in the inaugural year in 2008, seem incidental.
It’s hard not to think of Kohli as a square peg in the wrong team, but it wasn’t all gloom. He still looked at the positives. “We began expressing ourselves, started to play for our self-respect, and then the confidence came back. The way we turned things around and qualified was truly special, something that I will always, always cherish and remember because it took a lot of character from each member of this team. It’s something we can be proud of,” he said.
RCB head coach, former skipper of Zimbabwe, Andy flower was all praise for Kohli. “The way he thinks about the game – he backs that up with an amazing level of skill, aggression and hunger – I look forward to watching him in the World Cup. I think it’s amazing that he is still evolving his game,” he said.
Kohli showed there still is plenty of ammunition left in his armoury. It augurs well for India with the T20 World Cup around the corner.
It is proof enough that Kohli has plenty more to give, regardless of the chatter that he is heading towards the sunset.
Source Agencies
