Virat Kohli has walked into the hall of fame in international cricket. He is a proven champion across formats over a decade, but the transition from a superstar to a legend flourished in Melbourne on Sunday.
King Kohli's match-winning 82* off 53 balls against Pakistan in the opening game of the T20 World Cup 2022 saw him derive strength from all his levers — wrists, legs, knees, bottom hand, and mind.
In the age of packed cricket calendars, Kohli is the epitome of fitness, his primary tool to attain greatness. The body, synced with the mind, sets him apart from other players of his generation.
Kohli and his wrists
The Punjabi boy from Delhi has strong wrists. A subtle flick of those can send the ball out of the ground. The bottom-hand strength is a blend of his mind and physical power. He backs himself to execute the impossible shots — that six off a flick in the Haris Rauf over being one — that proves decisive in crunch encounters.
His wrists have often treated bowlers with disdain. Six years ago at the T20 World Cup in India, he smashed four boundaries in a Nathan Coulter-Nile over while chasing 161 against the Aussies. The one that set the tone was the wristy square drive through the point region.
Ironically, the flick shot was his main concern during his junior cricket days. He would be out LBW to tall fast bowlers. Like a true champion, he turned his weakness into strength.
Kohli and sprint force
If not cricket, Kohli could compete in athletics. He would have been a fine contender in the 100m sprint. His core strength helps turn the ones into twos. It lowers the required rate during a chase, and eventually when he gets tired of running, the sixes start pouring.
Kohli is a better player of pace than spin. And to negate the threat of leg-spinner Shadab Khan, a smooth operator with googlies and wrong 'uns, he gently flicked the deliveries towards the long square-leg boundary to steal the singles.
Eight years ago, in the T20 World Cup semi final against South Africa in Mirpur, Kohli had smashed 72 off 44 balls; 40 of those runs came in singles and doubles. This time, he scored 34 out of his 82 by running hard between the wickets.
Kohli often shares inspirational videos of his leg workouts that involve leg raises with barbells and box jumps. Barbell training also helps develop resistance and strengthening of the knee. And once the athlete runs after going through the lower body training for years, it is more of a flight.
Kohli's hand-eye and mind
Kohli has been using the games leading up to the World Cup to test his shots. He did get out cheaply a couple of times in the home series against Australia. It was mandatory to stick to the process to discover this new-found zone.
The man with 20,000+ runs in international cricket watches the ball till the last fraction of a second and trusts his reflexes to do the talking. A magic GPS in his brain helps him cut through the lanes between the fielders.
Kohli is quick to gauge the length of the delivery. He reacts at lightning speed to score runs off it. The eyes and mental strength backs him to do so. In several interviews, Kohli said that visualisation is his key to his success. He trains with music on, and visualises smashing the best bowler from the opponent side. The practice has turned into reality on many occasions.
And talking about mind, only he could run three singles off byes after being clean bowled on a free-hit delivery. Who else would have remembered the rules, with six needed off three balls in a high-pressure game?
Former India trainer Ramji Srinivasan, a member of the Indian cricket team in the victorious 2011 World Cup where Kohli had played a part too, believes the 33-year-old batter did not leave any stone unturned to become a legend. "He is a complete cricketer with a phenomenal mindset. How he absorbs pressure and turns it around is brilliant. It should be a lesson to young cricketers.
"Fit body houses a fit mind. He has really worked hard and proved that fitness has an important role in cricket. This is an example of following the protocols of fitness and diet apart from net sessions and cricket training," said Srinivasan.
Kohli has been in the game since landing in Australia, his happy hunting ground for many years. A gun fielder, he has been keeping the batters on high alert and executing run outs. In the warm-up game against Australia, his direct hit sent Tim David back to the dugout, and in the final over, he plucked out a one-hander out of thin air while fielding in the boundary to get rid of Pat Cummins.
Kohli is hungry, and this could be his World Cup. Amid the sound and fury of the showpiece event, one must celebrate the birth of a legend who can finish a game with 28 needed off eight balls.
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