Kolkata: King Kohli is back and back with a bang. Team India may have trounced England by 151 runs – resounding win courtesy KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj and even Ishant Sharma, but give it to the skipper.
Short of runs, slammed by critics and his captaincy almost at stake, Virat Kohli put in everything on the fifth day to make it count at the end. Yes, he may not have scored heavily at Lord’s, but watching him lead from the front during those tense hours has been a revelation.
As a leader, he did no wrong in the second Test, especially on the last day – apt shuffling of bowlers, pushing the envelope up with his motivating skills and doing everything possible to boost the morale of the side. What a show!
Without taking away a penny from the rest of the team, the Lord’s victory will go down the annals of cricketing history as a match that marked the comeback of the flamboyant cricketer from almost the ashes (do not mind this expression).
Virat has once again proved that writing him off can boomerang and giving up is not in his lexicon. It’s the rebirth of Virat, the skipper and mark our words, the coming up trumps over a confident English side on the latter’s own soil has just laid the foundation – floodgates will open and Virat will be back in form.
With the victory at Lord’s, Virat is the third Indian Test skipper to achieve the feat on the historic ground after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni. Thanks to the win, Virat now ranks fourth in the list of all-time successful leaders in the longest format of the game behind Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith.
When you are struggling to hit a purple patch, what is prerogative is perseverance and the Delhi guy is never found wanting on this front. He may be the most successful Indian skipper in Test matches, but Virat has just had his share of success at the most precarious juncture in his stint at the helm.
He has had victories in the past and will for sure, script many a memorable moment for the country in the future, but August 16, 2021 will never ever be relegated to the backseat. It marks the rejuvenation of a Champion! And he himself endorsed it at the post-match presentation ceremony, “I was part of the team when we won here under MS (Dhoni), but on that occasion more or less we had them under pressure on the fourth day itself, but this time around to get a result in 60 overs would remain special.”
Being the perfect team man, he lauds the entire team for such a scintillating show including Shami and Bumrah for those crucial runs in the second innings and Siraj for his outstanding spell throwing England out of gear, but to us, it’s the man himself for being the brainchild of it all.
As a true patriot he pointed out that it is the best gift for Indian fans coming a day after the 75th Independence Day but the job is not over yet. “We have three more Test matches to go and we can’t sit on our laurels and take it easy. If at all it’s going to be more intense and precise in what we do.” That sounds ominous for Joe Root and his boys!
So, watch out Virat’s opponents! He is not basking in past glory, the confidence is back and so will be the mesmerising craftsmanship with the willow.
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