Virat could be Indian cricket’s next big thing

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Virat Kohli’s seven centuries in 66 ODIs is a phenomenal achievement, especially in one so young. Here is a batsman mature enough at 22 who averages 45 in the short game, again outstanding, and who is promising to break such conversion records. He is the quintessential NextGen Indian batsman, secure in the limited-overs arena that serves and enhances his aggressive instincts best.

It was being mentioned just this week in the infamous cricket trial going on in London’s Southwark Crown Court that Salman Butt’s eight centuries in 78 ODIs is the best in the game, although the Pakistani ex-captain’s Test average — 30.46 — could be far better, according to his defence lawyers. Yes, such matters are figuring in courts these days, which is a pity of course.
Fortunately, Kohli’s performances are being praised only within the sporting fraternity. He has not been in Test reckoning enough to be labeled the best young triple format batsman in the game. He will probably get there ultimately. Meanwhile, Team India are enjoying his success rate in ODIs, which amounts to two hundreds in his last three innings against England. His knock of 107 in Cardiff was not a winning hand, which just goes to show what a tough game the ODI is.
A two-drop batsman must be among those with the better chance of converting good starts into centuries in the one-day game. What sees Kohli stand out is he seems to have his skipper’s calm at the crease even if he is quite capable of pump-fisting bursts of emotion. He is much more inclined to keep the innings rolling rather than taking it into bursts of big hitting in the air, which in the minds of too many young batsmen seems to be the only approach to take.
Remarkably, in a double-hundred stand in Delhi, Kohli and his Delhi colleague Gautam Gambhir did not hit a single six, the trademark stroke that even creates space for some slick marketing in the IPL. In the Kotla’s shorter boundaries, the temptation to clear the ground must be severe.
Genuine cricketing strokes were the norm and Kohli proudly pointed this out when talking of his innings to the media. The home batsmen seemed well aware of the need to stay off lofted hits as the runs were coming easily enough anyway on a plumb pitch.
The England batsmen are yet to learn the lesson of how to bat in the conditions. It is being said jokingly that Team England solved the problem of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s destructive batsmanship by not giving him a chance to bat in the second ODI. But if they had noticed the methods Dhoni used in Hyderabad, they may have realised that the thing not to do was to try and smite the spinners out of the ground.
The Indian method is to squeeze the runs out of spinners, which is done more safely by driving them down the ground rather than going airborne and across. Dhoni’s match-turning knock was marked by a huge burst of aggression in the end overs but he hit only one six as opposed to 10 boundary hits that fetched four.
Even Raina’s slamming hits were aimed at the quicks, not at the spinners. It’s all too easy to mis-hit against the spin when the tweakers are getting some purchase, as they invariably do on Indian pitches.
By the time England learn not to go too hard at the ball while looking for timing to dispatch it cleverly it may be too late. They are already in the last-chance saloon and given their record of one victory over India in their list three visits, just one in 15 games, which includes a creditable tie making 338 in the chase in the World Cup, it is on the cards that the revenge series will be over long before the last ball is bowled at the Eden Gardens. The likes of Dhoni, Raina, Kohi and Gambhir have decimated the England bowling threat already.