IPL 2016: One-man army Virat Kohli powers eleven

Finally, the total number of runs he has scored so far in T20s this year: The tally reads 1,166 in 20 outings.

Kohli’s batting of late, however, is a lot more than just a few arid numbers. In a flat IPL — in terms of viewership and attendance — his cricket has become the template.

It’s not easy to leave out a fit Chris Gayle in a must-win T20 fixture. Bangalore had to beat Pune to stay afloat and Kohli’s decision to include Australian Travis Head in place of the Jamaican ‘hitman’ had been fraught with risk.

Gayle has scored eight runs in three IPL matches he played this term. But you have to be very bold to drop a batsman of his calibre; on a batting beauty and against a lightweight Pune bowling attack. In the end, Kohli’s batting made his captaincy decision redundant.

192 was always an imposing total to chase, conditions and ground-size notwithstanding. And AB de Villiers’s sudden loss of form meant Kohli didn’t have the licence to fail. He had a close shave early on, when a miked-up George Bailey missed a direct hit from mid-off.

Then, Kohli had a minor injury scare as he set off for a leg bye and Rahane came charging in from backward point to effect a run-out. The latter’s boot appeared to have thudded into Kohli’s helmet but he recovered quickly and responded with a six over deep cover off RP Singh in the next ball. In fact, that RP over saw the start of the momentum shift with KL Rahul taking a six in the second ball before Kohli’s classy repulse. Bangalore had scored 10 runs in their first three Powerplay overs. They plundered 36 in the next three.

MS Dhoni turned to Adam Zampa instead of R Ashwin and the Aussie leg-spinner bowled a very good first over. He was courageous enough to toss it up against the best limited-overs batsman in the world. Kohli waited for the loose balls.

When Zampa missed his length, he played a delightful flick to bisect the long-on and deep mid-wicket. A cover drive one delivery hence was even more gorgeous. Dhoni still stuck to the rookie wrist spinner, who came back strong to dismiss Rahul and de Villiers inside five deliveries in his next over. At 97/2 after 12 overs, Bangalore were under pressure and a quickfire cameo became the need of the hour.

Shane Watson stood up to the challenge, taking five fours off Thisara Perera in the 14th over and following that up with a four and couple of sixes against Rajat Bhatia. Watson had been immense in this Bangalore win with his 13-ball 36 and 3/24 in four overs. Kohli didn’t mind playing second fiddle, while the Aussie was in command.

He shifted gear with ridiculous ease as RP trapped Watson leg before. Dhoni finally brought in Ashwin — in the 17th over — and Kohli slammed him over cover for a boundary. It was the only over Ashwin bowled in this game. Dhoni’s choice looked a tad baffling.

Kohli didn’t mind though. He laid into Zampa with consecutive sixes and a four before hitting RP for two more maximums. A four off Ashok Dinda took Bangalore over the line with three balls to spare. They won by seven wickets.

“Today I was motivated to go that extra mile and we needed to win six out of seven to qualify,” Kohli said. He ran away with the Man of the Match award.

Earlier, Rahane played a brilliant hand for Pune. His 48-ball 74 and a 106-run partnership with Saurabh Tiwary for the second wicket helped the visitors reach 191/6 in 20 overs. The latter rode his luck but played some good shots as well to score 52 off 39. But Pune lost the plot a little at the death, losing four wickets between 16th and 19th over for 30 runs. A bail-trimmer from Watson castled Rahane.

Here’s a head-to-head comparison between Rahane and Kohli: The Pune opener hit eight fours and two sixes and scored at a strike-rate of 154.16 before being dismissed in the 19th over. The Bangalore captain — he also opened the innings — hit eight fours and seven sixes and went at a strike-rate of 186.20 to secure his team’s victory. There’s a fine line between good and very good.