World T20: Australia did not lose to India - but to a man called Virat Kohli

Sometimes even the most sublime superlatives fail to do justice to certain sporting performances. On a balmy Chandigarh evening on Sunday, Virat Kohli played that very innings of his career; an effort that involved immense skill and endurance. So often, Kohli devours run chases for dinner, but this 51-ball 82 will go down a “giant among giants” type of knock; one that helped India storm into the semi-finals of the ICC World T20.  

There was little muscle involved, just touch and finesse. Every boundary was struck with exquisite precision; with the dexterity of a charming ballet dancer. The field was dissected the same way a surgeon would skillfully cut open his patient, and the ball often sped away like this match was being played on a snooker table. By the time this massacre reached its conclusion, Australia were left battered and bruised, and sent tumbling out. Kohli had made an absolute mockery of the 161 the Aussies had set India for victory.

 

Towards the end, watching Kohli was like watching a highlight reel – almost every ball was sent crashing into the fence. Just that he was doing it for real. This was wizardry of an unseen kind, the kind that will linger in the memory for years to come. This was Kohli at his imperious best – an unassisted annihilation of one of the powerhouses of world cricket.

After Sachin Tendulkar had vanquished Australia at Sharjah in 1998, Mark Taylor had famously exclaimed that his team hadn’t lost to India, but to a man called Sachin. At the presentation ceremony on Sunday night, Steven Smith’s visage wore that same forlorn expression. He managed a wry grin but even he could not deny the damning eventuality of this brutal assault. After a point, with India having wickets in hand, a Kohli special seemed imminent.

There were moments of sheer magic: the silky flick through square-leg early on in the chase, the boundary through point off an almost yorker-length Nathan Coulter-Nile delivery, the top-spin forehand off James Faulkner that went sailing over mid-off for six – shots of a man who right now can do very little wrong.

Kohli’s was a one-man operation that was planned perfectly. As India lost early wickets and Yuvraj Singh hobbled in pain, Kohli played smartly – churning the strike over and never allowing the required run-rate to get out of hand. And then, almost at the flick of a switch, he teed off, sending the ball flying to all parts of the PCA Stadium in Mohali.

But then Mahendra Singh Dhoni does not like one-man operations. In Kohli, he has a player who is carrying the team’s entire batting on his shoulders – a major reason to worry. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan failed to get going for the fourth game running. Ditto for Suresh Raina, who once again fell to the short ball. And, Yuvraj, despite all his valiant attempts, is no longer the batsman he once was. Maybe it’s time to get Ajinkya Rahane up and running.

In major tournaments in the last few years, so often it has been the bowling that has let India down. Not this time. After Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch gave Australia a furious start, the Indian slow bowlers – with the exception of Ravichandran Ashwin – rescued the innings brilliantly, taking pace off the ball and striking at crucial times. Ashwin, India’s main man in crunch games, just ended up bowling two overs.

A firing Kohli or not, it’s time someone else in the Indian batting steps up and takes responsibility. This over-reliability on Kohli comes with the perilous possibility of an abject batting failure against the West Indies in the semi-final. For now, Indian fans can soak themselves in the euphoria of another Kohli masterclass. Post match, Shane Warne said that Kohli’s knock reminded him of some of the great innings played by Tendulkar. In some ways, it was even better.

But Kohli’s innings was eerily similar – in fact, identical – to Tendulkar in a completely different respect. On March 27, 1994 – exactly 22 years ago – Tendulkar opened the batting in one-day international cricket for the first time, against New Zealand in Auckland. He scored a scorching 82 – the same as Kohli on Sunday evening.