Virat Kohli has not played in New Delhi, his original home city a lot over the last six years, with his appearances limited to three high-profile games – a Test, an ODI and a solitary IPL match – all in 2023. (PHOTO: Sportzpics)Even as visits to the city of his roots have dwindled in recent years, the fiery ‘Dilli’ boy within Virat Kohli comes out ever so often on the field.
Kohli has not played in his original home city a lot over the last six years, with his appearances limited to three high-profile games – a Test, an ODI and a solitary IPL match – all in 2023. A rare Ranji Trophy game this January teased a reunion. And yet, Kohli continues to roll up his sleeves with the free-spirited Delhi aggression despite being a senior statesman who has clinched two ICC trophies over the 12 months and retired from T20Is. He is still in for jousts in the IPL, picking on moments that inimitably fire him up while giving the league’s best batmen stiff competition on the Orange Cap leaderboard.
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Nothing could have underlined that drive better than his last two outings – against Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the win after the defeat in the reverse fixture at home, Kohli’s overzealous celebration in Mullanpur, in response to Shreyas Iyer’s antics at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, may have even irked his India teammate momentarily.
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Kohli’s batting template in the middle phase has lacked consistent big hits, often resulting in somewhat below-par totals for the team when batting first. The concerns were perhaps put to bed when the former RCB skipper shouldered the side to their first 200-plus score and home win this season, with a solid 70 off 42 against Royals last Thursday.
On Sunday, ‘visitor’ Kohli has the opportunity to fix another reverse-fixture setback, against Delhi Capitals. DC’s stunning coup in Bengaluru a few weeks back had KL Rahul making an emphatic statement on his original home ground.
Steering a chase after a top-order wobble, Rahul’s stellar 93 not out ended with a six and an uncharacteristically expressive celebration. Plotting a circle on the field with his bat before thumping it in the centre, Rahul was in a mood to remind RCB fans and the city that ‘this is my ground’.
It would be extremely un-Kohli-like should he not recreate something similar if the opportunity presents itself at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, especially when the contest pits two new-ball forces of contrasting arcs.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Virat Kohli celebrates his half-century. (Agencies)
With Kohli and Phil Salt setting the charge at the top, RCB have produced Powerplay surges that somewhat mask the inconsistency of the middle order. Their Powerplay performance (515 runs) ranks second among all teams, with a strike rate of 154.31 also placing them among the quicker-scoring teams this season.
Meanwhile, beset by a series of injuries and patchy form, DC are yet to wear a settled top three as they run into the menacing Powerplay bowling unit, led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood. In a remarkable transformation from previous editions, RCB tops the charts with the new ball, snaring 15 wickets in the Powerplay with the best economy rate (8.40).
But the crux of DC’s success has not relied entirely on spotless starts as a formidable Rahul, skipper Axar Patel, Ashutosh Sharma and Tristan Stubbs shore up the stocks in the middle overs and beyond.
Kohli will sense the heft of a Kotla challenge when the middle-overs demand stronger smites off his blade. A mercurial middle order starting with captain Rajat Patidar at No. 4 continues to hold Kohli back, forcing the master innings-builder to bat deeper with a certain degree of self-denial. Continuing to tally runs on the might of his supreme athleticism between the stumps, Kohli’s strike rate drops by nearly 20 in the Powerplay-Middle overs transition. His total shares make an almost even split by runs – from 174 at 151.30 between overs 1-6 to 198 at 135.61 in 7-16.
The Capitals catch up and potentially trump RCB’s Powerplay gains, with Rahul leading the charts with 206 runs at 154.88. The Rahul-Axar-Stubbs-Ashutosh quartet can ably switch between spots to provide flexibility, also providing the most stable (37.66 average) and potent (161.04 strike rate) in the middle order this season.
While the venue won’t hold any demons for the homegrown Kohli, who has scored six fifties in 10 outings here, DC’s spin assortment offers an intriguing examination.
A flighted leg-break from uncapped Vipraj Nigam in the seventh over resulted in his downfall in Bengaluru. Subdued returns before left-arm sharp-shooters Axar and Kuldeep Yadav at sub-120 strike rates can also seep into pre-game discussions.
Kohli’s middle-overs work rate may need a catalyst to catch up with the current T20 order and, perhaps more importantly, explosive partners to soften the load from the other end. The returns are almost equal in this phase, with Kohli scoring 51 percent of his runs (102) through singles and twos.
The Kotla knowhow may add a spring in his step, and an immeasurable energy would also pass when the Delhi instincts kick in. A fiery riposte could be in store for Rahul and Co. at their adopted home ground.
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