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Yet, Kohli
is unlike Tendulkar in far too many ways. It takes a special player to be so
universally disliked. if you’re English or Australian loathing the very ground
that Kohli scores on comes easy. Kohli isn’t meant to be likeable. Not at least
for adversary nations. By now, he’s comfortable being in that creepy, unlikable
skin of his. That itself sorts a lot of issues – at least for him.
Every now
and then he sheds some of this creepy skin, and becomes a poised, likeable guy
behind the mic. Then the mic drops. And the penny. And he’s out to get his
pound of flesh.
To needle
is Kohli’s currency. More so when he senses, he’s in the eye of the storm.
Kohli will, like a Banarsi weaver, take that needle and shove it right through
the storm. Often enough, the storm is of his making. Either way, he’s always a
ready accomplice.
Joe Root
run-out done, celebratory kisses done, mic-drop done, England batting undone,
Indian batting undone. From 50/0 dropped to 50/3; followed by 100/4, 100/5;
calling it almost quits at 169/7 when Ashwin was done.
Kohli’s two
lives courtesy Dawid Malan in the slips were a long time ago. Kohli likes his
fast bowlers. That he trusts them deeply with the bat was a revelation. More so
after Shami was done just 13 runs after Ashwin.
The last
two wickets added a country mile to India’s final score. Never mind Ishant
Sharma and Umesh Yadav made only 6 of the last 92.
When Ishant
was dismissed, Kohli was three shy of his century; when India was dismissed,
Kohli was one shy of 150. And India was just 13 shy of England.
What began
shakily for Kohli against James Anderson, with edges and nicks not going to hand,
built into a thoughtful yet dull sameness of leaving-the-ball. Anderson continued to bowl unchanged, mostly
outside off, Kohli continued to leave unhinged. Scoring was sacrificed, but a
battle, crucially, both an inner one and one against Anderson was won. Anderson
was England’s most economical bowler, but his main mission to prise out Kohli
went unfulfilled.
It was
hardly dramatic. Leaving the ball rarely is unless you’re Courtney Walsh.
Through this mostly barren, long stretch against Anderson, Kohli sowed the
seeds of his first century on English soil. And who’s to say, how many more
that will inevitably follow. Growing hundreds, like flowers, takes patience,
more so in tricky English conditions. Kohli, as do flowers, made the most of
the sun that peaked through the clouds.
And then,
six balls after Ishant’s wicket, after four dots, Kohli glanced one behind
square to the IPA sign boundary. In a perfect world, beer would’ve served to
all with Shastri picking the tab. Instead, Kohli roared, as only Kohli roars –
helmet off, right glove off, locket kissed, salaams, smiles. There was a
lightness to it all. Atherton called him a remarkable player on air. Kohli was
by now batting on air. Introspective one-day mode had been activated. Which in
Kohli’s case implied attacking shots strewn between deadpan defence and the
occasional single.
In twelve
overs, for the tenth wicket, India added 63 runs after Kohli’s century – eight
fours and a six off the skipper’s bat, and four byes past Yadav off nobody’s
bat.
It was his
22nd Test century. What this means to him, we may never know. If we
do, it most probably will come at the end of a successful tour. One that he may
have to hold together largely with his bat.
In the
second dig, Kohli was in at 22/2. The top order hurried away, Ashwin walking in
at 63/4. 110/5 overnight, with 84 for a win. Within two runs on the fourth
morning, Dinesh Karthik was gone. Kohli went pass his fifty but when Stokes got
one to go past his bat, he was trapped in front; a review only delayed it.
Within a minute, Kohli was dismissed twice – first by the umpire, then by the
review.
If anyone
thought otherwise, Kohli’s dismissal had been communicated clearly - India’s chase was dismissed too. 31 runs shy
of the target, India folded within the next 21 runs.
A day after
India’s defeat, somewhat ironically, it’s announced that Virat Kohli is the
world’s No. 1 Test player. An Indian on top after 2011, after Sachin Tendulkar.
That
Tendulkar had many such days, as Kohli, doing all the dirty work isn’t lost on
anyone. The comparisons are out there. That Tendulkar had with him the likes of
Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly isn’t lost on anyone either. But such was
his reputation that few grew in his shade. Each might have played masterful
innings, some far scaling those played by Tendulkar, but no cricketer received
a farewell anywhere close to that of Tendulkar. He was, to put it bluntly, the
first amongst equals. Not by numbers alone but by his aura, his reputation, his
likeability.
Kohli
outscores Tendulkar - not with his likeability but how he can be vastly disliked.
Kohli’s aura, reputation and numbers though are surging like some tropical
storm. There is more than a hint of fear and awe that accompanies Kohli to the
crease.
It’s up to the present lot, whether they want
to wither in Kohli’s shadow or grow out of it. Few will, but on the odd day
that they can, they will only add to Kohli’s reputation – more as a captain.
Something that Tendulkar often lacked.
First published here
