Test Cricket's Survival- VIRAT KOHLI !
A few years back a young and energetic cricketer came onto the scenes of the world by making India win the U-19 Cricket World Cup in 2008. Yes, he's none another than Virat Kohli. When he played for India in his debut series against Sri Lanka he very much looked like the guy from the current generation. The hairstyle, the tattoos and the googles gave us an impression that this guy is good but was he good enough to survive in the team for long? He didn't have a great IPL in 2008 for the RCB but there were glimpses of his class. 2009 was completely different. He performed exceedingly well for RCB in South Africa and was finding his strides in the international arena where he was playing at his best to be the core member of the Indian Cricket team. He played a crucial role in India's triumph in the 2011 Cricket World Cup but much like Gautam Gambhir even his role is very much understated. The most memorable moment of the World Cup would be when Kohli was asked about carrying Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders and he said- "Sachin has carried the burden of the country's expectations on his shoulders for 22 years and its time we carried him now". This was so Mature and full of Class from Kohli.
Kohli was yet to find his feet in Test Cricket. He had been the Chase Master for Indian team in One day Internationals . Nasser Hussain famously calls him the "KING KOHLI". But Kohli wasn't done yet. He wanted to do more for Indian Cricket team. We, as spectators and fans, were totally devastated when India lost to England 0-4 and to Australia 0-4 down under. We criticized and hailed abuses to the Indian team and were questioning Dhoni's Captaincy all the time. Little we knew that it was Dhoni's persistence with Virat Kohli, even after a series of poor scores in first few games, that made Kohli the best batsman. His first century abroad against the Aussies in Adelaide was the only bright spot in the entire series and since then Kohli has never looked back.
Test Cricket started losing its charm once t20 took over the world cricket. The Domestic Leagues like the IPL, BBL, CPL and other t20 leagues involved a lot of money with 3 hours of entertainment. Cricket balls flying out of the stadium, cheerleaders, colorful costumes and of-course the Glamour made these leagues a HIT. People filled the stadiums. Who would have imagined Dhoni vs Kohli or Kohli-ABD in the same team. Parents took their kids for the matches to the stadium and every child now wants to at least play in one of the leagues rather than representing their country in "WHITES".
Kohli, however had, rated Test Cricket the toughest and most challenging among all the three formats of Cricket. He always believed that a player can play well in ODI and T20 only if he plays well at the Test Level. But 5 day long matches were becoming monotonous. Watching 90 overs a day needed a lot of patience but in this new era of T20 people wanted the players to play quickly and get the match done quickly.
We, as Indians, however enjoyed Test matches as we would get to see players like Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Ganguly, Kumble and Sehwag play together. Sehwag kept us entertained, Dravid made us to believe that he would never get out and Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly just kept the momentum going. But once these greats retired there was an emptiness created in the hearts of the fans who loved Test Cricket.
Then came KING KOHLI! When he captained the Adelaide test vs Aussies and scored centuries in the both the innings , it brought back the crowd to the stadiums. The belief was back that TEST MATCH is very much alive. Dhoni knew that this Indian test team will reach newer heights under VIRAT KOHLI and decided to retire from tests. Dhoni knew there were players like Saha who could fill in his shoes as a wicket-keeper.
Kohli changed the mindset of the players. He wanted the players to express themselves, be aggressive and always said to his team- If they play well they will create great memories. Test Cricket,once the most important format, was fighting for its survival and here came its Oxygen and he was KOHLI. Five reasons why Kohli is the main reason for Test Cricket's survival:
a) Playing tough and aggressive cricket :
Kohli has played always aggressive. He is a lot more expressive than his peers and this is what makes him most important person of the team. Kohli loves when the camera is on him and the opposition always is targeting him as he is aware that his team will benefit from this as others are equally talented but are given less importance.The on field banters and sledging keep the spectators involved and this has made many more to watch test cricket these days.
b) Encouraging the Crowd:
Playing at home and having the backing of the crowd can sometimes demoralize the opposition. The opposition teams against India , in India, are mainly affected by the presence of huge crowds in the stadium. Virat Kohli, whenever feels his team is down and needs a wicket, he encourages the crowd to keep backing the team. He lifts the spirit of the team and crowd. People never went to watch test cricket in the past few years but now we can see that nearly 10,000 people and more than 20,000 people on weekends visit the stadium to watch the match. Kohli has been the only captain and the player who has been effective in using the crowd support. The best instance I've experienced was in the recently concluded Test Series between India and Australia. It was Day 2, Ishant Sharma running in with full steam , Kohli getting the crowd involved as it was the last ball before the Tea Break ,Mitch Marsh was on strike. Ball hits Marsh's pads and as the umpire raised his finger, the crowd went berserk. Indian players running all over and the crowds were ecstatic like never before. This was Kohli's magic and this made test cricket find its feet again.
c) Winning from any situation:
T20 and ODI the matches are fast paced and before you blink an eye the match is over. Your not allowed to make a single mistake and even if you make you don't have time to recover from the mistake. Test Cricket is all about winning sessions. Winning the important moments. When India lost in Pune vs Aussies and were trailing Australia by 87 runs in the second innings very few thought India could win. Pujara and Rahane reminded us of the Dravid and Laxman resistance and battled hard and turned the match in India's favor. Kohli came with all guns blazing in the Australia second innings. He captained like a champion. He never allowed his team to get complacent. Never did their shoulders dropped. Test cricket was magical and that match in Bangalore was the best Test Cricket I have seen in a long long time. Kohli always meant business and he knew that the team can win from any situation and that's the reason Test cricket is rated so high and this match gave Test Cricket a new breathe of life.
d) Defense and Counter Attack:
Test Cricket is the real test for all players. Its like the Board Exams for these cricketers. There will be many who are successful at T20 level but the best ones , who are always remembered, are the ones who succeed at test level. Kohli is one such player. He emphasizes more on test cricket and how one needs to trust their defense to be successful. The way Kohli performed against England in the recently concluded series showed how Test Cricket can curb the natural instinct of a player but a player needs to adjust to be successful. Kohli tired the English bowlers, defended every good ball, counter attacked when it mattered. His brain was working like a computer. He made Test cricket watchable and more entertaining than ever before.
e) Patience and Winning at any cost:
Kohli's attitude is to win at any cost. He gives his heart out to play for India. Even if its a matter of one run he dives around the field to save that run, irrespective of whether he gets injured or not. This series vs Australia, Kohli might have not performed with the bat but he made sure he always contributes on the field. He didn't want to lose to the Aussies. He knew that winning this test series would be far more sweeter than all the series wins. His presence on the field make spectators go to the stadium than watching it on television. His press conferences are straight-forward and not diplomatic. He has made the fans to believe in him and the team. He has brought Test cricket to that level which it deserves. Test Cricket slipped to the third place in the podium but Kohli has taken it to the pole position. Test Cricket had always been great but it needed a spark to renew its hope and Kohli is the spark which has lit up Test Cricket once again.
Kohli was yet to find his feet in Test Cricket. He had been the Chase Master for Indian team in One day Internationals . Nasser Hussain famously calls him the "KING KOHLI". But Kohli wasn't done yet. He wanted to do more for Indian Cricket team. We, as spectators and fans, were totally devastated when India lost to England 0-4 and to Australia 0-4 down under. We criticized and hailed abuses to the Indian team and were questioning Dhoni's Captaincy all the time. Little we knew that it was Dhoni's persistence with Virat Kohli, even after a series of poor scores in first few games, that made Kohli the best batsman. His first century abroad against the Aussies in Adelaide was the only bright spot in the entire series and since then Kohli has never looked back.
Test Cricket started losing its charm once t20 took over the world cricket. The Domestic Leagues like the IPL, BBL, CPL and other t20 leagues involved a lot of money with 3 hours of entertainment. Cricket balls flying out of the stadium, cheerleaders, colorful costumes and of-course the Glamour made these leagues a HIT. People filled the stadiums. Who would have imagined Dhoni vs Kohli or Kohli-ABD in the same team. Parents took their kids for the matches to the stadium and every child now wants to at least play in one of the leagues rather than representing their country in "WHITES".
Kohli, however had, rated Test Cricket the toughest and most challenging among all the three formats of Cricket. He always believed that a player can play well in ODI and T20 only if he plays well at the Test Level. But 5 day long matches were becoming monotonous. Watching 90 overs a day needed a lot of patience but in this new era of T20 people wanted the players to play quickly and get the match done quickly.
We, as Indians, however enjoyed Test matches as we would get to see players like Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Ganguly, Kumble and Sehwag play together. Sehwag kept us entertained, Dravid made us to believe that he would never get out and Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly just kept the momentum going. But once these greats retired there was an emptiness created in the hearts of the fans who loved Test Cricket.
Then came KING KOHLI! When he captained the Adelaide test vs Aussies and scored centuries in the both the innings , it brought back the crowd to the stadiums. The belief was back that TEST MATCH is very much alive. Dhoni knew that this Indian test team will reach newer heights under VIRAT KOHLI and decided to retire from tests. Dhoni knew there were players like Saha who could fill in his shoes as a wicket-keeper.
Kohli changed the mindset of the players. He wanted the players to express themselves, be aggressive and always said to his team- If they play well they will create great memories. Test Cricket,once the most important format, was fighting for its survival and here came its Oxygen and he was KOHLI. Five reasons why Kohli is the main reason for Test Cricket's survival:
a) Playing tough and aggressive cricket :
Kohli has played always aggressive. He is a lot more expressive than his peers and this is what makes him most important person of the team. Kohli loves when the camera is on him and the opposition always is targeting him as he is aware that his team will benefit from this as others are equally talented but are given less importance.The on field banters and sledging keep the spectators involved and this has made many more to watch test cricket these days.
b) Encouraging the Crowd:
Playing at home and having the backing of the crowd can sometimes demoralize the opposition. The opposition teams against India , in India, are mainly affected by the presence of huge crowds in the stadium. Virat Kohli, whenever feels his team is down and needs a wicket, he encourages the crowd to keep backing the team. He lifts the spirit of the team and crowd. People never went to watch test cricket in the past few years but now we can see that nearly 10,000 people and more than 20,000 people on weekends visit the stadium to watch the match. Kohli has been the only captain and the player who has been effective in using the crowd support. The best instance I've experienced was in the recently concluded Test Series between India and Australia. It was Day 2, Ishant Sharma running in with full steam , Kohli getting the crowd involved as it was the last ball before the Tea Break ,Mitch Marsh was on strike. Ball hits Marsh's pads and as the umpire raised his finger, the crowd went berserk. Indian players running all over and the crowds were ecstatic like never before. This was Kohli's magic and this made test cricket find its feet again.
c) Winning from any situation:
T20 and ODI the matches are fast paced and before you blink an eye the match is over. Your not allowed to make a single mistake and even if you make you don't have time to recover from the mistake. Test Cricket is all about winning sessions. Winning the important moments. When India lost in Pune vs Aussies and were trailing Australia by 87 runs in the second innings very few thought India could win. Pujara and Rahane reminded us of the Dravid and Laxman resistance and battled hard and turned the match in India's favor. Kohli came with all guns blazing in the Australia second innings. He captained like a champion. He never allowed his team to get complacent. Never did their shoulders dropped. Test cricket was magical and that match in Bangalore was the best Test Cricket I have seen in a long long time. Kohli always meant business and he knew that the team can win from any situation and that's the reason Test cricket is rated so high and this match gave Test Cricket a new breathe of life.
d) Defense and Counter Attack:
Test Cricket is the real test for all players. Its like the Board Exams for these cricketers. There will be many who are successful at T20 level but the best ones , who are always remembered, are the ones who succeed at test level. Kohli is one such player. He emphasizes more on test cricket and how one needs to trust their defense to be successful. The way Kohli performed against England in the recently concluded series showed how Test Cricket can curb the natural instinct of a player but a player needs to adjust to be successful. Kohli tired the English bowlers, defended every good ball, counter attacked when it mattered. His brain was working like a computer. He made Test cricket watchable and more entertaining than ever before.
Kohli's attitude is to win at any cost. He gives his heart out to play for India. Even if its a matter of one run he dives around the field to save that run, irrespective of whether he gets injured or not. This series vs Australia, Kohli might have not performed with the bat but he made sure he always contributes on the field. He didn't want to lose to the Aussies. He knew that winning this test series would be far more sweeter than all the series wins. His presence on the field make spectators go to the stadium than watching it on television. His press conferences are straight-forward and not diplomatic. He has made the fans to believe in him and the team. He has brought Test cricket to that level which it deserves. Test Cricket slipped to the third place in the podium but Kohli has taken it to the pole position. Test Cricket had always been great but it needed a spark to renew its hope and Kohli is the spark which has lit up Test Cricket once again.
Very well put up karan... :) :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much :)
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