Virat Kohli… Made the ‘impossible’ possible © AFP
“The impossible - what nobody can do until somebody does”: Anonymous
Virat Kohli’s demolition of Lasith Malinga - one-day cricket’s most feared bowler - seemed too good to be true. Nobody would have imagined that Lasith Mailnga would ever end a One-Day International with figures of 7.4-96-0-1. In doing so, Kohli has not only helped India to a famous win but also severely decimated the aura surrounding Malinga.
The Kohli vs Malinga duel at Hobart makes shocking read. Kohli scored 44 runs off 15 balls he faced off the Lankan paceman for a staggering strike-rate of 293.33, with eight fours and a massive six. This onslaught is one of the most brutal in recent memory, especially considering the fact that Malinga is viewed as a bowler against whom survival against the scorching Yorkers is foremost in minds of the batsmen!
A record of batting blitzes arranged according to the strike-rates:
| Player | Bowler | Runs | Balls faced | Fours | Sixes | SR | Match |
| Dimitri Mascarenhas | Yuvraj Singh | 31 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 387.50 | Eng vs India at The Oval, 2007
|
| Herschelle Gibbs | Dan van Bunge | 48 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 320.00 | Neth vs SA at St Kitts, 2007
|
| Shahid Afridi | Malinga Bandara | 43 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 307.14 | Pak vs SL at Abu Dhabi, 2007
|
| Virat Kohli | Lasith Malinga | 44 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 293.33 | India vs Sri Lanka at Hobart, 2012
|
| Ross Taylor | Abdul Razzak | 36 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 240.00 | NZ vs Pak at Pallekele, 2011
|
| Ross Taylor | Shoaib Akhtar | 36 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 225.00 | NZ vs Pak at Pallekele, 2011 |
In small matter of 15 balls, Kohli has given cricketing world emphatic proof that Malinga need not be viewed with the kind of fear he has been thus far. What a statement, by the young man!
(Nishad Pai Vaidya, a 21-year-old law student, is a club and college-level cricketer. His teachers always complain, “He knows the stats and facts of cricket more than the subjects we teach him.)
