IPL 2016 has been magnanimous, or maybe something more than that for Virat Kohli, the batsman. Currently the orange cap holder and rightly so, with his performance he has made sure he gave his fans reasons to cheer about something at least amidst the dullness of the continuous team defeats initially. In the prime of his form, the only player to score 4 tons in an IPL edition and smashing many other records, he is at the moment ruling and owning the game in his own right. He, single-handedly has given his team a bright chance to qualify. His fans do not need a reason to watch his innings yet and yet again, but even the cricket fans in general and supporters of other teams would be compelled to watch and re-watch his innings for several reasons and here are three of those reasons-
The wristy flicks charging the ball to the stands
When Kohli’s wrists come into play everyone knows it’s nothing less than a visual treat. Initially those wristy flicks usually sent the ball through the greens to the boundary lines and Virat Kohli was often not thought as the one who could easily charge the ball into the stands with sheer power like a Gayle or a Pollard, but only until this edition of the IPL. IPL 9 has brought such a drastic change in his records that he currently holds the record of hitting most sixes (36). In all the innings that he has played this edition and especially the ones wherein he has hit the tons, the wristy flicks that have actually launched the ball into the stands have been the highlight. Not only the wristy shots but also the other cricketing strokes that he has essayed throughout this season have been nothing less than poetry in motion, crafted so effortlessly that anyone would love to watch in on repeat mode.
The change in gears
T20 is that format of the game that can actually increase your heartbeat to a galloping rate with sheer excitement and adrenaline rush. All you want to watch is a continuous increase in pace. Everyone knows how beautifully Virat Kohli sets his innings up, but the change in gears in all the four tons he has hit has been exceptional. In the century he hit against the Gujarat Lions at the Chinnaswamy the acceleration must have made even the fans of the GL sitting a home feel the heat and helplessness. He reached his fifty only in the 15th over of the innings in 39 balls and in merely the next 5 overs taking only 15 balls he reached his 100. On other occasions like the one against the KXIP at the Chinnaswamy he completed his 50 in 28 balls, and in a mere 15 over game it took him another 18 balls to reach his fourth century of the season. To feel that pump time and again anyone would want to re-live his innings.
The intensely passionate, consistent and determined attitude
If there is anything that has gone wrong with Kohli, it has been the losses of his team despite continuous great batting efforts by him. He has done all that he can even going to the extent of batting it out with seven stitches in his left hand, but despite losing the games what one has observed is him coming out with double the intensity and passion and fighting single-handedly to be the saviour for his team. He has led from the front setting a mark every time he has walked to the pitch with the bat irrespective of the fact that he has had to return empty handed at times. There have been contributions form the other players, but it has been him alone who has stepped up in every match making it safe to say that this one man army has made the possibility, of RCB qualifying, alive Nothing has stopped the run machine from playing bolstering knocks and causing a carnage out there and this never give up and extremely committed approach has left such a lasting impact on everyone that one cannot help but yearn to watch more and more of him play.
“I am surprising myself a little bit here, to be honest.”, is what Virat Kohli told in a recent interview on iplt20.com but for us soon there will come a time when him not performing like this will come as a surprise. Not taking a back seat and conquering his pain, scoring 1300 plus runs in t20s in the calendar year of 2016 (most by any batsman) he is growing in stature and getting unstoppable with each passing day and it wouldn’t be wrong to say that one can’t ever get enough of his batting.
