India vs England: Virat Kohli’s focus is like a monk who meditates on his breath
Virat Kohli, unlike many other batsmen, has such a voracious appetite for runs, that it does not matter which format he is playing in. The second innings essay in the first Test against the England cricket team at Rajkot was by any yardstick a phenomenal exhibition of a batsman at the top of his craft.
That Virat Kohli is an exceptional talent is stating the obvious. If he continues to score heavily, hit centuries and win or save matches for his team, he will soon become part of cricketing folklore. (Vizag Test: Day 4 Scorecard)
Virat Kohli, unlike many other batsmen, has such a voracious appetite for runs, that it does not matter which format he is playing in. He is an all-seasons man. Be it the T-20’s, one-dayers or Test matches, he continues to pile on the runs. Unlike many others he is no flat track bully: the greater the challenge, the better he responds. (Vizag Test: Day 4 Highlights)
In the four innings he has played so far in this Test, he has shown remarkable skills in making extremely difficult conditions appear normal and even friendly. The second innings essay in the first Test against the England cricket team at Rajkot was by any yardstick a phenomenal exhibition of a batsman at the top of his craft.
On a wicket on which the ball was playing all sorts of tricks and turning at acute angles and viciously as well, India would have lost the match but for Virat Kohli’s innings. What stood out was not just the time he occupied the crease, but the supremely confident manner in which he went about his job. While all others were struggling to get bat to ball, Kohli was playing as if the track held no devils.
At Vizag he may have scored a century in the first innings, but the knock he will cherish is the one he played in the second innings on Sunday. It was again not going to be a hundred, like at Rajkot, but in the skill he displayed on a track threatening to explode with widening cracks, Kohli was confidence personified.
Read more | Vizag Test: Virat Kohli and India need to work on how to use DRS, not waste it
The hallmark of a great batsman is not just scoring in conditions when anyone else can do the same. It is responding in conditions when the best find it hard to cope with hostile surroundings.
This is where Kohli is simply outstanding. When the rest are made to look like pigmies, Kohli towers above the others like a giant, who fears nothing. It is an amazing quality in a man, whose exterior is full of aggression and anger is second nature. What is required while batting in these dangerous conditions is not a rush of blood but a calm and serene mind that focuses on the immediate and does not worry about what is to come.
Kohli obviously has two sides to his personality: One for the world and the other for himself. The attention required to play these energy-sapping knocks can only come from an unwavering mind, concentrating on the ball like monks focusing on their breath while meditating.
To be successful in sports you need more than mere talent. There are many examples of players far more talented than the ones who succeed.
The genius is not only talented, he has faith in his abilities and hungers for circumstances to prove he can make difficult things appear easy and simple. Kohli exhibits all these traits and looks all set to reach a summit of records and runs which could surpass anything we have seen so far.