“So much was said about his form but he is back on top of his game. It is phenomenal to see an individual who has had his low points bouncing back and playing like this. They say form is temporary - and he has certainly proven that class is permanent.”
These words were written by Sri Vivian Richards about Virat Kohli. Not during this T20 World Cup, but during the 50-over equivalent in India last year. For years, Richards – the greatest and most dominant batsman of his age – had spoken of how Kohli was the player who reminded him most of himself. Richards contributed three run-outs to West Indies’ victory in the 1975 World Cup final, and a magnificent unbeaten 138 in the summit clash four years later. What Kohli was missing from his resume was that sort of defining display in a final.
Few expected that in Barbados today. Kohli, the greatest player in the history of the T20 World Cup, had endured a nightmare tournament, tallying 75 runs in seven innings. The decision to open the batting with him and Rohit Sharma had backfired spectacularly, and India had made the final inspite of that.
For Kohli, it was strange terrain. For so long, he had been king of the jungle. Now, he had become the hunted, and bowlers from most teams fancied their chances. In both 2014 and 2016, he had been Player of the Tournament. His 319 runs and magnificent 58-ball 77 in the final wasn’t enough to deny Sri Lanka in 2014, as the rest of the batting disintegrated. Two years later, he smashed an incredible 89 not out off 47 balls in the semi-final against West Indies. But India bowled costly no-balls and dropped catches, and the men from the Caribbean won with two balls to spare.
Earlier in the tournament, Kohli had reeled off an unbeaten 82 off 51 balls in a must-win game against Australia. That innings prompted Gideon Haigh, probably the world’s finest cricket writer, to pen: “Not a stroke, by the way, would have looked out of place in a Test match…Much as the marketers would like to take the cricket out of T20, Kohli keeps putting it back.”
Even in the last edition in 2022, Kohli had produced the innings of the tournament against Pakistan, salvaging a lost cause with back-to-back sixes against the blistering pace of Haris Rauf. The first of them, an astonishing back-foot punch back over the bowler’s head, has probably been replayed more than any other cricket stroke in history, barring the MS Dhoni six to clinch the 2011 World Cup.
All those memories came flooding back as Kohli began the final with three sumptuous fours in Marco Jansen’s opening over. But with wickets falling in a heap at the other end, he had to rein in the aggressive instincts and play the anchor role. As he took 48 balls to reach his half-century, more than a few eyebrows were raised. Would the go-slow cost India the final?
Off the next 10 balls, Kohli struck two sixes, two fours and 26 runs. Suddenly, a middling total became a challenging one. It hadn’t been his tournament, but when his country most needed him, he turned it on. That he then chose to step away from international T20s was no surprise. After the semi-final defeat in 2022, he hadn’t played the format for India for over a year.
“One day you feel you can't get a run, then things happen,” he said after the final. “God is great, and I got the job done for the team on the day it mattered. Now or never, last T20 for India, wanted to make the most of it. Wanted to lift the cup, wanted to respect the situation rather than force it. This was an open secret, it's time for the next generation to take over, some amazing players will take the team forward and keep the flag waving high.”
With batsmen of the calibre of Yashasvi Jaiswal on the bench, and Shubman Gill on standby, Kohli knows the future is bright. Just as it was when he was handed the torch by Sachin Tendulkar.
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