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.

What is the thin line?

What is the thin line between Sledging and banter or abuse they all are talking about all these years? This question is as subjective and as unanswerable as 'Egg or Chicken!' Sledging has gone on throughout the 150 plus years of cricket and it has produced some great as well as funny moments along the way. But there has to be a line where it has to stop, it should not go down the wrong road where either of the players get hurt by the comments made. There has been a lot of talk and harsh comments made on Virat Kohli's attitude for being in opposition's ear all the time. Mitchell Johnson came out and called Virat's behaviour foolish. Being a cricket fan, you have to like Virat's attitude and competitiveness that is actually making our game exciting. If chirping gets the best of him, why not? As long as he is not crossing the line, it's perfectly all right! But this is not about Virat but the game of cricket. There is a thing about sledging. You only ever target the person you think you can affect. There are players like Virat who you don't want to rile up or players like Alastair Cook who are as cool as cucumber and they never get flustered. You don't want to waste your energy on such players especially playing in 40 degrees down under or in the subcontinent. Sir Ian Botham once said -"When I was up against Alan Border, David Boon, Gorden Greenidge or Viv Richards, I wouldn't say anything to them because you don't want to wake them up. Just leave it and hope that they are still thinking about the dinner they had last night or in Viv's case, where he'd been last night!" The exact opposite example of it is the Ian Bell-Shane Warne incident in Melbourne 2006. Warney was bowling a tight length to the relatively new Ian Bell in front of 90000 Australians and the sherminator came on! Belly was trying to figure out what the sherminator was before getting out. He must have googled it at night!
    There is no way ICC can stop chirping and sledging on field but it can reduce the involvement of media in these matters. For example, the chit-chat between Virat Kohli and Tim Paine was exagerrated by media. There wasn't much in it. It was all in good spirit and it was good on umpire Chris Gaffeney's part that he intervened and calmed down both of them. And this is where on field umpires have an important role to play. They talk about the match referees not doing justice to either of the sides but on field umpires have the control and power to calm the players down which they are supposed to do. If you ask any modern cricketer or former cricketer, the only thing they will say is that sledging does go on but it happens on the field and should remain on the field. I know stump mics play a very important role in making the game better but those are controlled only by the producers and the broadcasters. ICC should find a solution in which the words said on the field do not go out. Because if players start getting afraid of the punishment inflicted because of sledging on the field, it will only make our game less exciting if not boring!

Fast Bowling is a mad art and these Indian bowlers are proving it!

   Right from the stories of Harold Larwood and Sydney Barnes to the great fast bowling quartet of the West Indies to the days of Lillee and Thompson to the glorious years of Waqar and Wasim to the great trio of Lee,Mcgrath and Gillespie and now dare I say the best days of fast bowling in Indian Cricket history, fast bowlers have always made our game exciting. A couple of quick bouncers to keep the batsman on his toes and honest and then fuller length delivery just curling away to get the nick! Wow, is there a better love story! There is something about 'fast' bowlers that you just like at first sight and it's often the speed and the aggression rather than the line and length. We all like to see an out-and-out fast bowler touching 145 clicks regularly, occasionally 150, having batsman hopping and jumping around the crease. Fast bowling is a mad art and fast bowlers are a rare breed. Bowling fast is a great skill and one is blessed if he can bowl fast!
    The terrifying stories of bodyline and Harold Larwood send sheivers down our body but that wasn't exciting stuff. That was some real hostile and dangerous fast bowling which could hurt people and my god it did hurt the Australians a great deal! But the real era of fast bowling began after the second world war when the West Indies were rapidly starting to take over World Cricket from England and Australia. They hijacked World Cricket in 1960s with 3 world class fast bowlers in Wes Hall, Charles Griffith and Roy Gilchrist playing under the great Sir Frank Worell. Then came the quartet of Marshall-Holding-Roberts-Garner under Clive Lloyd which helped West Indies dominate for another decade. And then arrived unfortunately the last pair of great West Indian quicks in Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose who were absolutely world class considering the fact that there wasn't much of a support from the rest of the team. Fast Bowling was even more dangerous when the helmets were not discovered. Dennis Amiss once famously said to Jeff Thompson after recieving a few vicious 150 kph bumpers-" How in frigging hell am I supposed to play this shit!" Facing fast bowling is not easy and Wasim and Waqar bowling in tandem was one of the best spells of cricket to enjoy, with the new ball but more so with the older ball!
    There are probably three recent pairs of fast bowlers that we can think of. One is Lee and Mcgrath. Lee was quick and Sharp while Mcgrath was an artist. Second one is Anderson and Broad, peobably the most successful one as far as stats are concerned. And the third and my favourite one is Steyn and Morkel, two out-and-out quick bowlers who could swing it, seam it and bowl it at 145 on regular basis.
    Now we come to the Indian fast bowlers and boy has there been a better group of Indian fast bowlers in the past. We can stick our tongue out and say no, this is the best group of 'fast' bowlers our country has ever produced. Taking 20 wickets outside of the subcontinent was a once in a year kind of a thing for Indian fast bowlers but these fast bowlers are taking wickets for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They took all the 60 wickets in South Africa, more than 80 in England and now all 40 in the two test matches in Australia which is quite stunning when you think of the days gone by. No matter what the conditions were like, a spinner was always India's best option but Ishant,Shami,Bhuvi and Bumrah have changed all that. And the fact that Virat likes to play with fast bowlers helps them a great deal. But what is it that makes them the best fast bowling line up in the world at the moment? It is the variety becsuse they are all right arm but completely different in some way or the other. Ishant, the most experienced of them all is not as quick as Bumrah or Shami but he is taller than all of them and  the bounce he gets on even flat pitches can be a bit of a problem for the batsmen. The perfect example of it is the spell he bowled at Lord's 2014 when he literally bounced England out to win India a famous test match. Though he hadn't fully realised his potential, he has been a workhorse and the control he brings is invaluable especially while bowling to left handers from around the wicket. Shami is probably the most skillful of the lot. I have not seen a better seam position from any bowler in a long long time. The only problem with Shami is that he 'blows hot and goes cold' often enough to make the captain scratch his head though he has found some consistency in the past couple of tours. Bhuvi is without doubt the most underrated and the unluckiest as well. He played the first test in South Africa, bowled well and was left out for the second test because they thought the pitch might not suit him. He came back in the third test and won India the match! For some reason or the other, they still don't consider him what they call-' the man for all conditions' which is sad because he has qucikened up a fair bit since he came back. He is not the quickest but he can be sharp and quicker than what batsman think and expect. While Bumrah is just 8 test matches old, the maturity he has shown is incredible. Jasprit Bumrah is 'the' fastest bowler India has ever produced. Bowling at 145, with control and that sort of an action can be difficult but he is causing batsmen problems left,right and center! And last but not the least and the one who has to get a mention here is Umesh Yadav because of the way he has bowled in India on those slow wickets. In the home season of 2016-17, watching Umesh Yadav bowl his heart out was one of the most pleasing sights for an Indian fan. It's a shame that he hasn't been able to find the same rhythm when the pitches are actually offering him something.
    The fact of the matter is that with all these fast bowlers playing under a charasmatic leader such as the great Virat Kohli, there are some really exciting days ahead for Indian cricket. Because scoring 600 doesn't win you test matches but taking 20 wickets does!

1-0 UP BUT STILL A LONG WAY TO GO!

From the days of Lillee and Thommo to the glorious days of Warne and Mcgrath and to a more recent whitewash in 2011-12, Australians have always dominated India in Australia. But this time and for the very first time, an Indian team was labelled as favourites to win in Australia. After watching Steve Smith and David Warner do what they did, it was very clear that they would struggle to be available to play against India and that was a massive dent in Australia's hopes rather than a boost to India's confidence because I think this Indian team is good enough to beat Australia with Smith and Warner playing. Indian batters had a decent outing in the practice game but the bowlers got some bashing from a pretty inexperienced batting line up. But came the Adelaide test and boy, didn't they turn up! Indian bowlers were magnificent and if it wasn't for them, there was no way India were getting a 15 run lead in the first place. Cheteshwar Pujara again proved his worth in this team with probably one of the best innings of his life. His 123 in the first innings turned the match on its head. India looked set to finish with a score that would have been well below par but Pujara with the help of tailenders got the crucial runs to drag India to 250. Ishant was probing all the way, Bumrah was nasty and hitting 150 clicks at times while Ashwin toiled hard and kept one end tight. Shami was blowing hot and going cold as always is the case with him but he was handy as well in the 2nd innings so it was almost a complete bowling performance from India except the fact that the tailenders again proved difficult to be removed becsuse the match should't have ended as close as it did. Indian batting collapse in the 2nd innings is also a bit of a worry becsuse in the position they were in, India should have batted Australia out of the game and should have set a target of around 400 which would have been way beyond Australia's reach.
     But this is the first time I remember that India have won a test abroad without playing the perfect game. In this year only, India dominated throughout the test matches when they won in Johannesburg and Trent Bridge. This surely wasn't a complete performance but this extremely vulnerable Australian batting line up helped India a great deal. But we all know-"These Aussies never give up!" and how perfectly the last 2 hours of the test match summed up this statement! Cummins and Starc are capable batsmen so they were expected to hand around and they did! Lyon is not great defensively but he is a mighty tough character and a gritty cricketer and didn't he brought out some emotions out of Virat Kohli! Although he is better than our number 11, Hazlewood isn't the one you would trust on 364 days of a year but he was playing Ashwin and Bumrah as he was batting there all day. This is the character and fight everyone expects from any Australian team and this side is no different.
    Virat Kohli's burst of emotions after the final wicket summed up what it meant to him as a captain. Having experienced what it feels like being on the other side of the result 4 years ago after smashing 141 in a massive run chase, ending up on the better side of the result this time around must be the greatest feeling of all. Adelaide has been a happy hunting ground for 'The King'. Though he didn't quite turn up with the bat in this test match, Adelaide owed him something and it is very pleasing that it has gifted him back a test victory!

These Aussies never give up!

This is the first time an Indian team is touring Australia and are being labelled as favourites to win everything but especially the test series. It is true that this Indian team has a bit more potential but they are a million miles ahead than this Australian side as far as confidence is considered. If we look at the recent form, Australia haven't won anything since the series of events in Cape Town. They lost to England 5-0 in June and then they couldn't win a game in UAE. Australian batting looks more vulnerable than ever before. On the other hand, Indians are coming on the back of a very successful and dominant home summer. Though this year was supposed to become one of the most glorious years in Indian cricket, it wasn't to be so. Scorelines in South Africa and England don't really show the quality of cricket India played. 1-2 in South Africa could so easily have been 2-1 if the first innings of the 1st test had gone well and 1-4 in England could have been 3-2 or even 4-1 if they had snapped the crucial moments. These ifs and buts matter almost nothing once the match is done and dusted but they go a long way in teaching a team how to tackle tricky situations. Based on the current form, India start favourites in all three formats. If the Aussies have any chance, its in the T20 format.
      But these Aussies don't give it up, do they? From all these years, the one thing we have known all along is that you can not take any Australian side lightly. I know there is only one world class test batsman in the Australian top 6 and that's Usman Khawaja who is doubtful for the first test. Rest of the batting is incredibly fragile and vulnerable but at the same time Australia probably have the best bowling attack in the world right now. The trio of Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins along with their best spinner Nathan Lyon is an incredibly dangerous attack to deal with. If Australia bat first and put some good runs on the board and these bowlers get on a roll, Indians will have a difficult job on their hand. India depend massively on Virat Kohli in the test format as we have seen in the past 11 months. He is without doubt the best batsman in the world but he needs support from the rest of the batting and Australian pitches will be a good friend for the likes of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant who are natural strokemakers and like to take the attack to the bowlers. If India negotiate the new ball well and put runs on the board, then India have the bowling to take 20 wickets now. So the batting counts for more than the bowling for India. Another thing is that I have never seen Australian media and pundits give so much respect to the touring team and praise any foreign player as much as they are praising Virat Kohli. With the bans on Warner and Smith not getting reduced, this is the best chance for India to win their first ever test series in Australia but even if both of them were there, I don't think anybody could have questioned India's potential to win this series!