At some point in the tense India-Australia World Cup encounter on Sunday, it appeared India had fielded two Virat Kohlis – one the original master of chases and the other disguised as KL Rahul. Both synced so perfectly in purposefulness, cricketing smarts and the general sense of balance in a challenging situation that it was hard to tell them apart as they set the stage for an emphatic win in Chennai.
The other Kohli shone brighter with a near blemish-free unbeaten knock. The original reinforced his formidable reputation as a big game player. However, in the end, the success of both made clear what exactly India need – in skills and temperament – at the critical positions of numbers there and four in the batting order and why the KL Rahul as opener debate must stop now. Swashbucklers and dashers are fine for the glamour of the game, but it needs mature heads on dependable shoulders more when the odds stack up.
At MA Chidambaram stadium, it was supposed to be a bowlers’ match. The Indian pace attack followed by the tweakers had set the tone by bundling the Aussies out for a low 199. Jasprit Bumrah provided an early (should we say customary?) breakthrough and was backed up competently by Mohd Siraj. Ravindra Jadeja tightened the screws on the Aussies’ formidable batting line up with critical wickets and Ashwin and Kuldeep delivered stingy spells. Between them the spinners had six scalps, conceding 104 runs in their 30 overs.
But it was evident that the chase won’t be a walk in the park for the Indians – low-scoring contests between equal teams on dicey wickets are always a suspense-filled package, aren’t they? The vaunted Australian pace battery struck back with ferocity, reducing India to three wickets down with only a couple of runs on board. Not many great teams lose matches from that vantage starting point. They capitalise on the early advantage to mount pressure on opponents, never allowing them to settle down. The run flow is squeezed and wickets are claimed at right intervals to finally make meagre totals unattainable. The script is familiar. Australia would have wrested victory in 9 out of 10 matches in similar circumstances anywhere in the world.
But scripts can go wrong. In adversity, heroes are born. They dictate the narrative to force a fresh conclusion. Adversity is also a test of character. It can elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary, the mundane to magnificent. At MA Chidambaram, India had two – one an aging veteran of many battles and the other the new Mr Dependable for Team India – proving their character.
The way Rahul approached his game had Virat Kohli written all over it. Stay cool, plan your game, weather the initial storm, steady the rocking boat, build an innings block by block with ones and twos, shed flashiness or adventure to consolidate position and then break free, always firmly focussed on the goal. Not often you see batters letting go of their natural instincts to save the team. It is not that they are unwilling; it is because they cannot. It requires great self-control and match sense. The great Sachin Tendulkar withholding the cover drive entirely in a Test match in Australia where he scored a double century is a case in point.
Virat Kohli, not unduly called the master of chases, has a similar trait to his batting. Discipline of the mind is its hallmark. Rahul displayed the same trait while at the crease on Sunday. That leads us to say the Aussies had one more Virat to handle in their encounter with India – one the original, the other in disguise. We could have just had the glimpse of another great in the making.
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