new don as kohli scales w all

The tons of runs that Virat Kohli scores have stopped surprising pundits by now. It’s just that India’s batting superstar has made the extraordinary look normal. In fact, he has made it look ridiculously normal. But when Kohli’s fourth double century of his Test career on Friday broke a long-standing record held by Don Bradman and Rahul Dravid, the magnitude of what he has been doing routinely begins to make a mark on the mind, as emphatically as the cover-drives he plays.

It’s in fact the shots he has been playing simply take your breath away — like that short-arm jab over midwicket boundary off England pace bowler Chris Woakes during a recent one-dayer in Pune where his hundred helped India chase down 350 despite being reduced to 63/4 at one stage.

Kohli was in no position to play a pull shot. So in a fraction of a second, he used his strong bottom hand to send the ball soaring over the mid-wicket boundary.

In sports, only the greatest of the players have pulled off such magical stuff. It was cricket’s answer to a piece from the Diego Maradona football gallery on YouTube.

Those who haven’t seen it, take a look at that vicious corner kick from a young Maradona for Boca Juniors that beat the outstretched hands of the goalkeeper to hit the back of the net.

Kohli has begun to give similar moments to sports fans — moments that send them to some surreal world. “His battle is not against any rival player or rival team. Kohli’s battle is personal. It’s a battle against himself. It’s a battle to become a better player every day. I believe that is his most amazing quality,” Pakistan legend Saqlain Mushtaq recently said.

Many big names have been tempted to compare him to Sachin Tendulkar, but Kohli has never tried to become somebody else. He is just focused on doing what he does best. If he keeps doing that, he might become the reference point for future great players.