Virat Kohli and his inhuman statistics!

Decades ago they questioned whether Sir Donald Bradman was a human or not. They actually had his eyesight checked only to know that it was just as normal as anybody else. Later Sir Don told that he used to play with the golf ball and a stick against the wall because he had nobody to play with in his childhood as he lived very far from town. May be that was the secret behind his incredible hand-eye coordination. Sachin Tendulkar has some inhuman records but nobody in India has questioned whether is a human or not because for the Indians, he is a certified God, isn't he? What about Virat Kohli then? is he a human? He walks on two legs, holds the bat with two hands and sees the ball with two eyes only but his numbers and achievements are inhuman! His impact has been second to none. I am a big fan of numbers and just to give you a perspective-

40 ODI hundreds in 216 innings
33 in winning course
24 while chasing
10 hundreds in his last 25 innings
5 in the past 12 months

These are just a few numbers which are enough to let you know what I want to! A century per 5-6 innings in test match cricket is a good ratio but a century per five and half innings in ODIs is an unreal stat. Average of almost 60 after so many games is an unprecedented number in itself. But right now, he has bigger responsibility upon his shoulders. We have seen on number of times that when India's top 3 don't fire, India generally succumbs to defeat. Dhawan is not in great form. Rohit is a great player but he even after so many years of cricket, his runs are not guaranteed. Kohli is the only player in this Indian team who can bat on any surface and make batting look easy but more importantly, take India to a respectable total. It is needless to say that he is the best player in the world and is probably the greatest to have ever played One Day Cricket. His statistics are beyond explaination. Although numbers are a very definitive parameter in judging one's success, it's the performances and what he did for the team is what everyone remembers. That is why the aura of Virat Kohli is even more special as he has produced memorable performances throughout his career. Whether it be the 183 against Pakistan or the blazing 130 in Hobart or be it any of his 24 hundreds while chasing, Virat's contribution to team's success is unmatched. Dare I say, his impact is even greater than the great Sachin Tendulkar himself and it's crystal clear that 'the day' is not far away! Let go the record 49 ODI hundreds, he might end up scoring 20 more!

The best slower ball I have ever seen!

The series was level at 1-1 and the action had turned to the mighty MCG. India had won a close one at the Adelaide Oval while Australia had dominated at Perth. Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bat on a typical flat wicket at the MCG. Mayank Agarwal, on his debut, showed great sense of promise as he went on his way to score a silky 70. But it was Pujara and Kohli's time to take over the spotlight as they combined a brilliant partnership to put India in a very strong position at the end of day 1. The grind continued on the second day as India took the score well in excess on 400. Australia survived some nervy overs at the end of day 2. Marcus Harris and Aaron Finch took guard again on day 3 morning but little did they know that Jasprit Bumrah was going to rip through them on such a slow wicket. Ishant Sharma got the wicket of Aaron Finch, caught brilliantly at short mid wicket by Mayank Agarwal, diving low to his left! Bumrah was bowling to Marcus Harris who he had already hit on the head, once in Adelaide and again in Perth. Bumrah came around the wicket and bowled a rapid bouncer. He tried to hook only to end up being in Ishant Sharma's big palms at deep fine leg. Kerry O'keefe was furious in the 'fox' commentary box-' Harris wanted four for that on an inconsistent bouncing pitch, that is a poor shot selection boys!' (in the typical Kerry O'keefe accent). Jadeja had Khawaja caught at forward short leg for not too many as Bumrah came back for another burst just before the lunch break. Shaun Marsh had settled in and looked quite good. Bumrah was bowling the last over before lunch and it is fair to say that he set up Shaun Marsh like never before. A couple of good length deliveries followed by a couple of balls nipping away and here he was steaming in for the last ball before lunch with all of 10000 Indians behind him. What Shaun Marsh must have been expecting? A short ball? Another good length delivery? At the most a fast Yorker at 145! What did Bumrah deliver? A slow yorker at 119! "A big slower one! Jasprit Bumrah you are brilliant!"- louded Shane Warne from the commentary box, a big fan of his! Wow that was something out of the world from Jasprit Bumrah. A slower one without any change in the action. It dipped on Shaun Marsh and hit him low on his front pad on the full. It was so well disguised that Marsh was through with the shot yesterday afternoon! Marsh was stunned as he kept looking down with a sense of admiration towards the bowler.
     Australia resumed after lunch at 89-4 and Jasprit Bumrah was at it once again. Travis Head had looked good throughout the series and he was looking good once again at the MCG. He was negotiating Bumrah quite well from over the wicket with ball going away. Bumrah decided to come around the wicket and the first ball he bowled was on the money. Boom! A snorter of a full pitched delivery at 143 and the timber was disturbed. Travis Head was very late through the shot as he was done for pace on a slow wicket. Australian captain was the next to go as he edged one to young Rishabh Pant to give Bumrah his fourth wicket. Shami went straight through Patrick Cummins just when everybody was talking about how good a defence he has got. Australia were 8 down with just about 150 on the board. Bumrah came back for another spell as he had his sight set on a five for and a potential six for. We know by now that Nathan Lyon is a credible batsman but even the great AB de Villiers had succumbed to Bumrah's yorker so Lyon wasn't a great deal for Bumrah, was he? A rapid toe crusher was always going to be more than good enough and it was. It hit Lyon flush in front as Australia found themselves 9 down. We have to admit that Josh Hazlewood is a pretty good number 11, better than most of India's number 11s. But the old trick of a couple of bouncers followed by a yorker was too smart for poor Josh as he had himself clean bowled to give Bumrah a six for. His figures read as 15.5 - 4 - 33 - 6. Quite stunning, isn't it? He gave India a huge lead which set up a memorable victory for India in Australia. It was certainly one of the best spells of out and out fast bowling from an Indian pacer I have ever seen.

Virat Kohli and the year 2018: A cricketing romance at its imperious best....

Often we say that 'that' year defined a cricketer's career or in this case a batsman's career. With the tours of South Africa, England and Australia scheduled back-to-back, it wasn't going to be easy for any batsman let alone Virat Kohli. But how good was he across formats and across conditions? We saw the best batsman in the world at the peak of his powers dictating the terms in some of the toughest conditions for batting. Be it the masterly 153 he scored at the Supersport Park on a slow and low wicket or be it his first ever test century in England at Edgebaston or the match winning knock at Trent Bridge or a gritty ton at Perth which is one for the ages really, every one of them was special snd different in one way or the other. They say that numbers don't tell you everything but don't forget that numbers are one of the most important parameters in judging one's success. So what do Virat Kohli's numbers tell us? He was the only batsman to notch up a 1000 runs in test cricket this year, scoring 1322 runs at an average of 55 with 5 centuries and as many fifties. 'The King' also officially became the number 1 batsman in the world during the England tour. With regular failures haunting various Indian openers, Kohli was there to face the new cherry more often than not and boy, didn't he handle it well? King Kohli was at it all of the times. More than the runs he scored, the atmosphere around the stadium when Kohli was in was absolutely stunning everywhere. Virat was welcomed with a few boos here and there but understandably so because everyone knew that the best in the world had come to the crease to haunt every one of them. There was a sense of theatre and drama when Kohli hung around for a while and a lovely story unfolded everytime with every stroke that came out of Kohli's MRF. From gorgeous cover drives to the perfect on drives to some thunderous pulls, he was in command of everything he did. All of his centuries were brilliant but the two innings which I will never forget were the ones he played in Johannesburg, a fifty and a forty! Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first on a spicy one at the Wanderers with India already trailing the series 2-0. Openers departed early as usual and it wasn't easy to bat on. There was some uneven bounce and Rabada and Morkel were bowling on a shoeless outside the off stump just short of a length. Things were difficult but Kohli stamped his authority with a very elegant looking fifty which included some wonderful drives on a hard and bouncy pitch. That provided India some momentum when Pujara was going really well at 0 off 50 balls! The forty he scored in the second innings was even more impressive. The pitch gad started to go up and down but he had the courage to get his front foot forward and drill some drives through the off side. Those two innings at Jo'burg and the innings at Perth were similar in a way. Both pitches were spitting fire in the first place and Kohli was in the firing line straightway. There was some short pitched stuff on both occasions but everytime the ball was pitched up, Kohli was ready to spring on to the front foot and drive. That is what all the great players do. On a difficult wicket, a lesser batsman will see a full delivery pitched outside off stump as a delivery which can not get him out whereas players like Kohli see it as a scoring opportunity and pounce on it! But the most important thing about his test career is that he is vouching for test cricket all over the world with his enthusiasm and passion on the field, which is the need of the hour really!
    What about Kohli in ODIs in 2018? He has dominated the format and has been the number one batsman for some time now. We don't even have to look at the numbers but just to get the feel of it, here are some! Over 1200 runs at a ridiculus average on 132 with 6 centuries in 14 matches. He had a very special tour of South Africa where he scored 558 runs in 6 matches including 3 centuries, all in winning courses. He also breached the 10000 run mark during the home series against the West Indies in which he scored 3 consecutive hundreds, first Indian to do so! With 38 centuries, he now stands behind only Tendulkar and the day is not far away! If Kohli in tests was full of determination and grit, Kohli in ODIs was full of class and rhythm. It seemed as if no one will ever be able to trouble him in the kind of form he was in. There is a sense of urgency in the opposition's camp when Kohli takes guard in ODIs because there isn't a better batsman around! Every bit of his innings has class written all over it. He as good as it can get in ODIs. I didn't see Sir Vivian Richards bat but from the stories of the great man, I get the feeling that Kohli has created a smililar aura of himself with a similar touch of swagger attached to it. It's going to be great fun and an honour to watch the greatest batsman of this generation do some special things in the next 4-5 years.