Incredible Kohli
The cricketing assassin from Delhi is arguably one of the best chasers
| JANUARY 17, 2017, 05:51 AM IST
It doesn’t matter which format he is leading India in cricket. Virat Kohli, the modern day run machine continues to wield his willow with such ease as if it were a toothpick. At 28, this cricketing assassin from Delhi is running like a wild river, sweeping everything that stands in its way. His recent elevation as India’s cricket captain across all the three formats, after taking over the reigns from MS Dhoni, seems to have inspired him all the more. This was evident during Sunday’s staggering run-chase against England in Pune when Kohli and Kedar Jadhav, both hit match-winning hundreds to reduce a mountain of 350 runs into a mole hill. The fact, that local boy Kedar made the most of his homecoming was commendable but what Kohli achieved during the marathon chase would make his idol Sachin Tendulkar stand up in praise and admire at this youngster’s growing stature as one of the best chasers in world cricket. During his incredible knock of 122, Kohli made a bright start to the new year, cracking his 27th ODI ton in just his 169th inning and in the process went past Tendulkar’s record of 14 hundreds during successful chases, although the last named ended up playing 452 innings. In doing so Kohli also equalled the cricketing icon’s record of 17 tons while batting second in ODIs. The way Kohli has been motoring along at this stage of his career has prompted pundits to draw comparisons with the great Tendulkar. Going by Kohli’s imperious form of late, several other achievements of the Master Blaster are likely to be usurped in the near future making comparisons par for the course. While Tendulkar is looked upon as the final frontier for any aspiring Indian cricketer, simply because of the kind of staggering numbers lined up against his name, Kohli is humble enough to concede that he may not end up playing as long as his idol did. While Tendulkar walked the path for 24 long years, Kohli is still in awe of what the Mumbaikar ended up achieving in his glorious career that saw him play a mammoth 200 Tests, 463 ODIs while racking up 100 international hundreds and carrying with him the hopes of the entire nation every time he took guard. Kohli however, has made it clear that he does not wish to be spoken in the same breath as his idol and comparisons were unfair to Tendulkar. The Delhi batsman reiterated that point while speaking to former England captain Nasser Hussain ahead of the India-England ODI series. But all said and done, Kohli has already been hailed as the Ronaldo of cricket by Hussain, much after what he did to England in Sunday’s game in Pune. Judging by the enviable record Kohli beholds at the moment, where he stunningly averages 50 plus in all the three formats of cricket, only time will tell whether this new-found genius of Indian cricket carries on to conquer Sachin’s frontier.
