Junta Blogs

If he was a surgeon, then each of his operation would have been a success. I am talking about none other than Virat Kohli who bisected, cut and shred the Sri Lankan attack to land India an unlikely victory at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Tuesday.

It required an uninhibited, at times care-free approach to register what was a famous victory for India. Kohli pierced the gaps, kept the ball on the ground most times before he giving the word ‘onslaught’ a new meaning. To get the measure of what I am saying — dodge this —- Kohli’s final 30 deliveries read 4 1 1 1 4 1 4lb 4 4 4 . 1 4 1 1 2 . 1 1 2 6 4 4 4 4 1 1 1 4 4.

Clearly, just two dot balls. Sri Lanka had a nightmare on the field and their premier bowler Lasith Malinga was treated worse than a club bowler. A difference in approach did the trick for the Delhi lad. More often than not, Kohli has been guilty of throwing his wicket away in this series after having got a start. But not today. Kohli built a good foundation before upping the ante.

There were no half-measures and he made every bad delivery count. Kohli completely overshadowed the other centurions of the day— Tillakaratne Dilshan (160*) and Kumar Sangakkara (105). More than the runs he scored, I liked the manner in which he scored. More importantly, it is the way Kohli celebrated after hitting the century or after scorching a straight drive to give India the win.

Kohli smiled and thankfully, did not utter any profanity which is a sign that he is maturing as a player. It is crucial that one smiles after reaching any milestone in life, and Kohli thankfully did that. Many have already begun calling him a future captain. Yes, he surely looks more than just a prospect to lead the country in the coming years. One only hopes that Kohli controls his temper and ups his temper-ament. Amen!

Some interesting statistics for those who love numbers:

1. It equalled the third highest Indian run chase in ODI history, and was achieved with more than 12 overs to spare.

2. Lasith Malinga, one of the best bowlers at the death, had figures which read 1/96 off 7.4 overs.

3. Kohli shared two century stands – 115 runs off 109 balls with Gambhir and then of 120 from only 55 balls with Raina.

As Indian skipper M.S. Dhoni walked into the centre in the Adelaide ODI against Australia on Sunday evening, the visitors still needed more than just a few runs to cross the finishing line. There is a sense of calm when Dhoni is in the middle. He was not finding the gaps, he was not able to rotate the strike but what Dhoni did impressively was not to lose focus and his wicket. The mistake which India made in the Test series was to not put a price on their wicket and that became their undoing.

I was a wee bit worried when in the hot conditions in Adelaide, Dhoni walked in with a sweater. I assume that Dhoni was not at his fittest best. And that showed in his running too, but nothing really bothers when he is at the crease. With wickets falling in regular intervals, it finally boiled down to 13 runs off the last over. For me, the most important thing was the captain of the ship was still in it. And then, Dhoni unveiled the shot of the match. It was a six that was hit of the best bowler of the night — Clint McKay—-a shot that not calmed the nerves in the Indian dugout but also gave a ray of hope that India were firmly in it.

Legends are never born; they are made through toils of hard work, sweat in practice sessions day in and day out. Rahul Dravid truly is one. Even as the talk of him ready to call it quits from Test cricket grow louder, it is learnt that the former Indian captain could hang his boots from Test cricket on the last day of the Adelaide Test on Saturday. Remember, he already retired from ODIs last year.

A series whitewash, calls for his blood from everyone has made not only the purists sad but also worried. Not long ago, Dravid led the charge with blistering centuries at the Old Blighty. A total of 194 runs at a below-par average of 24.25 is not the way Dravid would have wanted to bid adieu to the game which gave him everything. And the right-hander returned the favour in kind. Dravid gave cricket his all.

I have to admit, albeit shamelessly, that despite India getting pasted at the ongoing 4-match Test series against Australia, I had woken up diligently to watch them perish day in and day out.

Along with me, there have been countless who would have patiently seen yet another dream India winning a Test series in Australia being butchered mercilessly. As India sank to yet another defeat in the Perth Test on Sunday, there was an ardent fan thousands of kilometres away who lost his battle with his life.

Wham, wham, wham, wham…….no am not describing any Phantom or a Batman movie, but Australia’s opening Bat Man David Warner.

On a day when India’s old bats struggled, bided time, left deliveries outside the corridor of uncertainty, and shamelessly perished, Warner gave a lesson on authoritative batsmanship. His innings of 104 came in just 80 balls, more importantly it contained 13 hits to the fence and 3 sweetly times ones sailing past the ropes.