The Man Who Sticks to the Basics- Five such performance by Virat Kohli

 

Kohli plays simple cricketing shots but what lies within them is the whole beauty about it. He says the same. Whenever the post-match presentations take place or in any other interviews, you have always heard Virat Kohli saying 'Sticking to the Basics' or 'Keeping the things simple. This is one of the mantras of him approaching a certain game. The ordinary thing makes him the "extraordinary" player of all time.

 

The 32-year-old has displayed many match-winning performances. So, let us relive the match-winning performances of the 'Run Machine' who has made batting look very easy.

 

 

When India needed 47 runs from the last four overs, the odds were heavily stacked against them. The match was going out of India's hands as it was a do-die match for India in the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 to break into the semi-finals. But, when you have Kohli on the crease the impossible seems possible. He went on to score a crucial 81 runs off 51 runs.

 

 

During the World T20 back in 2016, Virat Kohli smashed 273 runs in 5 matches averaging a staggering 136.50. Kohli was the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament and received the "Player of The Tournament Award" as well.

 

 

Back in IPL 2016, Kohli had sustained a split webbing on his left hand while fielding against KKR. After the game, he had even said: “I might need 7-8 stitches, but I don’t mind 10 stitches on my hand if we win the next two matches.” They say ‘Only the greatest of men stand up in the face of adversity,’ and the skipper did just that giving his 100% commitment.

 

 

It seemed like the rain had played spoilsport yet again in Bengaluru, but after heavy rain, it relented. The match was limited to 15 overs aside. Virat Kohli did the unthinkable, scoring a record fourth century in a single IPL season when put in to bat by the Punjab team. When Kohli raised his bat after bringing up his century, he pointed at the stitches and won the game for his side.

 

 

When England came to India, Virat & Co were already the no. 1 Test team in the World, achieving success in West Indies and New Zealand. The England tour of India in 2016 was one such series in which he had scripted his names among the greats of Test cricket.

 

 

With a total of 400 runs to chase in the first innings at Wankhede, the hosts started brightly with Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay. However, it was seemingly going downhill since, with India losing four wickets in 45 runs. India was looking to go past the visitors’ score and Kohli found an unusual partner in Jayant Yadav. The duo put up a 241 run-stand, the best 8th wicket partnership in Indian cricket history. By the end of the first innings, Kohli completed his third double century of the season, with Jayant also notching a ton.

 

After posting 631 runs for the visitors, India won the game by an innings and 36 runs. By the end of the 2016 year, the skipper broke a record set by two top Test batsmen, Donald Bradman and Rahul Dravid, and became the first batsman ever to score double centuries in four consecutive series.

 

 

Though this innings of him was not the explosive innings by him, it was a vital one in the context of the game. He had walked out to bat as early Rohit Sharma was dismissed. However, a 140-run stand for the second wicket with Shikhar Dhawan sailed India's ship. Initially, he was more on rotating the strike as Dhawan scored 76 of those runs but once Dhawan got dismissed, wickets kept going at the other end regularly.

 

Meanwhile, Kohli held his guard from one end and looked to play out India's full quota of overs. It seemed difficult at first but things got easier for him as the innings progressed towards the end. India was 236/6 at the 43-over mark and even a total of 275 looked great for them at that point. But Kohli's brilliance ensured that India reached a total of 303/6. The talented batsman scored 52.8 percent of India's runs and remained unbeaten on a score of 160 off 159 deliveries. The Indian bowlers came up with a superb bowling performance, later on, to bowl South Africa out for a paltry total of 179.

 

 

This was one of the greatest knocks by the skipper, though it seems like a small knock for a player like Kohli. The innings of 49 against Pakistan in Asia Cup T20 2016 will be right up there among his very best in international cricket, and perhaps his best in T20I. Yes, he should have been dismissed on 5 but luck was on his side.

 

 

This match had marked a comeback by one of the greatest Pakistan bowlers - Mohammad Amir. With Pak posting a target of 85 runs, it felt a one-sided match but once Amir came to bowl, it was destruction for the Indian side. He had destroyed the top-order. Kohli came to bat and he knew he had to be there till the end. He resisted, left many balls alone, and utmost he tried to nudge for singles because the format demanded him to keep scoring. And when the pressure was gone and he had hit fours. This somehow became the highlight of the match. He missed his fifty but he made sure that India was on the winning side.

 

These are very few of the match-winning performances by him, there are still many out there. Kohli turns 32 today. With him being in the national team, India and the fans are assured that this player will win matches for the nation when needed the most.