Form is temporary, and class is permanent is true as far as Indian skipper Virat Kohli is concerned. He came out to bat with two wickets had gone earlier, and the need for building up the score fell on the broad shoulders of Virat Kohli. Despite his poor form carried from the series against Australia, the captain was at the receiving end most of the time. In the first innings at Galle he got out for 3, and he was the only single digit scorer in the entire Indian innings of 600. Kohli realized his responsibilities and scored his 17th test century and kept the score board moving very quickly to effect an early declaration on the fourth morning.
Team India could achieve a facile win by a margin of over 300 runs, and this is India’s biggest overseas victory by the margin of runs. This was also the second biggest target set by India after 617 set against New Zealand in the year 2009. His 10th hundred as skipper came at an appropriate time and is just behind Sunil Manohar Gavaskar. Virat Kohli’s Galle redemption augurs well for the team with many batting failures at the top of the order. It was a matter of great pride to score a hundred when the team is winning.
By scoring 50 plus average in all the three formats of the game, Virat Kohli has niche his name in the annals of International cricket. He is the only player to achieve this outstanding feat in his illustrious career with the bat. He adopts to all the conditions of the game very quickly and had a measure of world class bowlers in his grasp. Generally, he stands up to the challenge in an able way. If test cricket is his toast, one day cricket is bread and butter, and T-20 is his brand of the game.
Kohli adjusts his batting style to all the three formats of the game rather quickly, and that is the reason for his high percentage success in the competitive game of cricket. He is the linchpin of Indian batting and as captain of the team for all three formats he switched gears to his advantage and took the fight to enemy’s camp and accumulated over 14600 runs speaks high volume of his class. He is a gift to Indian cricket, and by scoring 50 plus average in all three formats, he proved that is not just an average feat but a unique one on display among the world class batsmen like AB de Villiers, Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Steve Smith. However, there is one list where he already stands tall among all. Among cricketers, who have more than 10,000 international runs, Kohli averages the highest and is the only cricketer to average over 50 in all three formats of the game after his unbeaten Galle century. It is incredible when you top a list that comprises the greatest batsmen the game has ever seen. A land mark for Kohli come at the right time to boost Indian Cricket. Carry on Kohli for greater achievements with the bat and as a captain as well.
Anandambal Subbu
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
