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Journalism of Courage
There was a lot of hue and cry about Virat Kohli’s batting position for the World Cup. Before the mega-event, the Delhi Dasher was consistently shuffled between the no.3 and no.4 positions. While the experiment was not welcomed by cricket experts and fans across the globe, it helped India carve out a new role for the vice-captain. (Full Coverage| Points table| Fixtures)
Kohli, the vital cog in India’s batting line-up, was assigned a specific role ahead of the Cup – stay there and bat right through. It seemed a bit bizarre that a natural strokeplayer would curb his natural instinct of going after the bowling, but the move has payed rich dividends.
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In the opening contest against Pakistan, it was a different Kohli on exhibition. He scored a hundred, but it was nowhere close to the hundreds we are used to seeing. The intent was clear – he would bat through, and others would bat around him and accelerate the scoring when it mattered.
If the previous Sunday saw Suresh Raina up the ante, this Sunday it was Shikhar Dhawan’s turn to do the job. Coming into bat as early as the fourth over of the innings, Kohli seemed all at ease in the middle against the Proteas. There was a welcome calm in his approach.
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Seeing his partner cream the bowlers from the other end didn’t affect Kohli’s game one bit as he went about doing his job in a very composed manner. He stayed there for testing 60 deliveries, scored 46 runs and hit only three, yes three, boundaries. Unlike Kohli, right?
In the two matches he has played in the World Cup so far, Kohli’s strike rate has been 82.25 – much lower than his career strike rate of 89.96. India skipper MS Dhoni has time and again mentioned the importance of having wickets in hand till the 35th over.
He feels it’s important for a team like India, which has a lot of firepower in the lower middle-order, to have a solid foundation to capitalise on. While the finish hasn’t been ideal for India in the opening two matches, Dhoni will be pleased with the foundations the top-order has been giving.
The plan has worked well as India have batted first on both the occasions, but it will be interesting to see how Kohli approaches when India chase a total.
