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In India’s last match in the Asia Cup 2022, KL Rahul was coming for the toss along with Mohammed Nabi, which surprised many people. This gave an opportunity to Virat to open the innings with KL in the absence of Rohit. Perhaps, it was a day when even God wanted Kohli to score his 71st century and get the monkey off his back.
Kohli started cautiously by playing the ball on its merits at the start. He started to score quickly when he got his first boundary off a slower ball from Farooqi, where he flicked it towards a deep fine leg. He was looking positive, and his feet were moving well. All of the things which we get to see when Kohli is in form were present: a still head, flexed knees, back and across trigger movement, the bat tap before the bowler releases the ball, etc.
He used his feet well against spinners to get close to the pitch of the ball to smother the spin and executed his strokes well down the ground in the “V”. He also played a sweep shot towards the fine leg off Mujeeb, which is a rare shot in Kohli’s batting. He was indeed looking back on his touch now. His first six came when he stepped out and hit Mujeeb straight over his head by lofting the ball with the help of his wrists.
All the fans were expecting Kohli to continue this clean inning without any hiccups. But then came a moment when Kohli took a big risk to go towards the long boundary for a six over deep midwicket on a short ball bowled by Nabi, and it appeared that it would be a simple catch by Ibrahim Zadran.
However, Zadran made a mess of that catch by going with one hand well inside the boundary rope, which made the ball bounce out of his hand and goes over the boundary for a six. When Zadran dropped his catch, Virat was only on 28 from 19 balls.
The Afghanistan fielders looked a bit tired and low on energy on the field, and that loss against Pakistan in a close encounter would have drained them mentally and physically. Even after that dropped catch, even Kohli would have realized that this was his day and now he needed to cash in on the given chance. Kohli started playing his strokes all over the ground. He went inside out to Rashid over extra cover for a one-bounce four and the timing was just majestic.
He was middling the ball well, and the ball was hitting the sweet spot of his bat most of the time. This showed that we are watching the old Kohli from 2016 when he was at the peak of his career. He shuffled across the stumps, went inside the crease, stepped out of his crease, and walked down the wicket to play his strokes for boundaries. He was using the crease well and playing with the minds of the bowlers. It was as if he knew where the bowler was going to bowl the next ball, a skill that few batters have.
He completed his 50 off just 32 balls in the 11th over by punching the ball straight towards long off. After completing his fifty, he looked “in the zone”. “The zone” is a quiet place where a batter lets his/her instincts take over and plays with a blank mind. It is a place where you are not thinking about the previous ball or the next ball. You are not even aware of how many runs you have scored. You are intensely focused on the present moment as if you are meditating while batting.
He shifted his gear and started attacking every bowler who came to bowl. He stepped out to Rashid and played a lofted shot for a six over deep mid-wicket, he shuffled across the off stump to score a boundary towards fine leg when Fareed tried to bowl outside off, he walked down the wicket and flicked the ball towards square leg for a boundary, he also went deep inside the crease to convert a yorker into a half volley and just milked the ball towards the right of backward point by opening the face of the bat at the last moment.
These shots were all typical Kohli shots that he plays when he is in form. Kohli has never slogged the ball or played unorthodox shots even when he wants to up the strike rate. He has always said that his T20 batting is just an extension of the shots which he plays in longer formats like the ODIs and Test cricket. He plays his strokes on a strong foundation built with a solid technique.
Kohli completed his century off just 53 balls by going deep inside the crease and pulling a short-length ball from Fareed over deep mid-wicket for a six. He scored his remaining 50 runs off just 21 balls to complete his maiden T20I century. The emotions were really high, and the fans started to applaud a knock, which was special. Kohli celebrated with a big smile after removing his helmet, and he too looked a bit surprised as it was the least expected format in which he thought he would have got his 71st international century.
Kohli looked content, happy, and grateful. He didn’t celebrate with anger, aggression, or a punch in the air, showing he had proved everyone wrong. He looked at the skies, thanking God for this century, removed his gloves, and pulled out to kiss his ring that had the initials of his wife written on it. Kohli then raised his bat to appreciate the applause made by the fans sitting at the stadium. He cherished the moment and then went back to his business.
He scored two sixes on the first two balls of Farooqi in the last over by stepping out on the first ball and going over long off on a slower one and then going deep inside the crease and pulling a slower ball off a short of a length ball over deep square leg for a six. Farooqi then went round the wicket on the next ball. This time, Kohli gave himself room by going outside the leg stump and driving it crisply through the covers of almost a yorker for a boundary. Kohli scored 12 fours and 6 sixes with a strike rate of 200.
He drove India to a strong total of 212/2 in 20 overs, which India defended easily with the help of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was the pick of the bowlers. Bhuvneshwar took a ‘fifer’ and gave just 4 runs off his 4 overs. He swung the ball with the new ball and got wickets upfront, which helped India to restrict Afghanistan to a total of 111/8 in 20 overs. India won the match by 101 runs, and this ended India’s Asia Cup campaign on a winning note.
Kohli also ended the century drought of 1020 days by scoring his 71st international century, equaling the record of Ponting and becoming the only batter behind Sachin Tendulkar in scoring the most international hundreds.
In the innings break interview, Kohli said, “I feel very blessed and very grateful right now. The last two and a half years have taught me a lot. I’m going to turn 34 in November, so celebrations on getting to landmarks are all a thing of the past. I have put a lot of things in perspective, and, actually, I was a bit shocked because this was the format, I least expected a century to come in any time soon, but it’s all God’s blessings. I have been working hard and this was just a moment which was very special for me and the team as well.”
When asked about what was going on in his head after completing his century, Kohli said “You see me standing here like this right now because of all the things that have been put in perspective and have been done by one person, who stood by me through all these difficult times-that my wife Anushka, and this hundred is specially dedicated to her and our little daughter Vamika as well.”
“As I said, it helps when you have someone next to you putting things in the right perspective, as I have had, and Anushka has been by my side through all this time,” he added.
His batting technique has regained its pleasure factor. All throughout the tournament, he had threatened, and on Thursday, all the positivity that had been bubbling up to the surface suddenly broke open like confetti on a great stage. Welcome back, King, displayed a message on the huge screen. So, well and truly. Welcome back, Virat Kohli.
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