Icecool Virat takes upheaval in stride
India skipper showed the ability to shut out all external distractions and focus on the job of leading the team to victory
GALLE: Publicly, Virat Kohli has always maintained he has not been affected at all by the controversy surrounding the change of the Indian team coach. But when you occupy the hottest seat in the country, that of the Indian cricket captain, you are better off without any additional pressure.
Kohli is gifted with that trait where he can shut out all external factors and focus on the job at hand – it was in display in the opening Test against Sri Lanka during his unbeaten 103 in the second innings. However, given how big a call he took in touching one of the greatest Indian cricketers, Anil Kumble, he will know if he doesn’t get the results the backlash will weigh him down like nothing else has before.
NO MARGIN OF ERROR
Having Ravi Shastri by his side, the Board of Control of India have provided him everything he wished for. But, on the other hand, it leaves him with little margin for error. It is in this context that getting runs and leading India to a win would be important for Virat Kohli’s confidence.
At the end of the game, the India captain maintained there was no external pressure that the win helped ease his nerves.
“It’s another Test match for us. The nerves being built up or the panic being created was all on the outside. Inside the change room, the atmosphere is absolutely same. We’ve just done what we’ve done in the past two years on a consistent basis. And we’ve just gone out there and focused on the game, and that’s all you think of doing and that’s all we’re going to do in the future,” said Kohli after scripting India’s 304-run win in the first Test at Galle.
What made it special for him was getting back into the runs. He had a forgettable Test series against Australia (he aggregated 46 with 15 his highest in five innings), and missed the final Test due to injury. His second stint under Ravi Shastri also started tamely when he fell for three runs in the first innings against Sri Lanka. Virat Kohli though more than made amends with a typically flowing knock to notch up his 17th Test hundred, and 10th as captain.
“I wasn’t looking at things from that point of view (not being among the runs). I think people on the outside start counting the number of innings when a batsman doesn’t score well, but for us as batsman or anyone playing in the 11, it’s all about what the team wants at that particular situation. And you end up scoring runs as well plus you end up helping the team also.
POSITIVE APPROACH
“The second innings required us to play more positively. I am glad I was able to do that along with Abhinav (Mukund) to get us time to get the opposition out and enough runs on the board for us to feel comfortable,” said Kohli.
“I wasn’t looking at things like how many innings I haven’t scored because when you are playing all formats, you don’t think about which format you have not scored in how many innings. But it always feels good to get runs when the team wins.”
With his performance, Kohli has displayed his mettle again. Blessed with ice-cold nerves, he doesn’t need reassurance, but the innings will help keep his critics at bay.