There was much to cheer about Indian batting’s poster-boy Virat Kohli getting back to run-scoring ways during India’s narrow loss to England in the Only T20 in Birmingham. R Vishal looks at whether the Virat’s magic willow is well and truly back or if his only fifty on the tour is nothing much to cheer about and is just another false dawn..
There were some ironic cheers from 20,000 plus Indian contingent in Birmingham when Virat Kohli got his first fifty on what has been a wretched tour for the batting lynchpin. He has spent more time smashing his bat on his pads in frustration more times than the number of times he has middled it but finally made a fluent, stroke-filled half-century. While this knock has given promise for an important tour ahead, has Virat’s worries in England really vanished into thin air with a single good performance?
The Knock: It definitely had the Delhi dasher’s stamp written all over it and was a throwback to the jaw-dropping displays that took him take the mantle of the batting mainstay with utmost ease. The bursts of aggression, that has so often proved to be a driving factor at Virat’s heroics in recent times was in full cry. Under batting-friendly conditions, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and co. failed to capitalise on the batsman’s vulnerability and gave away too many bad balls for the man who has struggled to buy a big score on the tour. For a brief phase, early in the innings, Virat looked tentative and held his belligerent streak back. Eoin Morgan failing to attack with his fieldsmen also aided to then Indian’s cause and he was set. Once he got his eye in, India’s No 3 in One-Day Internationals (ODI) started revelling at the crease – playing his favourite on-side flick like a veteran artist with his paintbrush and found gaps at will.
Conviction: It can be argued that here was a batsman who was looking for a new lease of life; a man who was licking his wounds after going through his worst phase of his fledgling career. A minimal-risk approach at the start is not a bad way to go at all but the knock lacked conviction. There were a couple of half-chances that the hosts failed to cash in on and could have well sent him on his way. As mentioned earlier, spraying the ball on the leg stump was never going to give English bowlers their prized scalp. Virat still looked a tad short of confidence. It was also one of the few times in the recent past that a well set- Virat failed to get the team anywhere close to the finish line.
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The James Anderson factor: England’s bowling attack collectively may limp past the fifty mark in terms of appearances in ODIs or T20s. Virat’s struggles with the late movement off the pitch against James Anderson is only too well documented. England didn’t have Anderson’s trusted aide and pace partner, Stuart Broad either. Under batting friendly conditions, it is hard to read too much into this knock. It is not like Virat has not combated tough challenges before. He was solid against Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel in South Africa earlier in the year and up-and-coming New Zealand pace attack was thwarted in style too. Having been brought back to earth by Anderson in the Test series, it remains to be seen how he matches up against rib-breakers of Mitchell Johnson Down Under later in the year. From India’s perspective though, their best batsman showed glimpses of good touch towards the tail-end of the tour and it bodes well for the gruelling season ahead.
The Road ahead: Playing West Indies at home, the bookies can very well go ahead and through their dough on Virat blazing his way to a couple of tons. Having come of age as a world class batsman in India’s tumultuous tour of Australia in 2011/12, Virat will walk into the vicious tracks of the Southern Hemisphere being a primary target. The chinks in the batsman’s armour, especially the off-stump conundrum, which had him in knots time and again, and his feet movement, or the lack of it with certain deliveries will be studiously monitored by the Aussies. The buzz around the ICC World Cup 2015 has gained considerable momentum and being one of the premier batsmen in the world needs quite a few of his expletive-ridden, chest thumping hundreds to haul his way back into the elite league. Till then, just like the comparisons with Virat and yesteryear batting maestros – the jury is still out. Complete coverage of India’s tour to England here
(R Vishal is a journalist, beach lover, Chelsea FC fan and a wannabe globetrotter. Being a loyal student of the Tariq Iqbal school of cricket stopped him from fulfilling his dream of becoming a cricketer. Now, he just writes and talks about the game; He can be followed on Twitter @vishhell)
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