Team India doesn’t look favourites it’s Virat Kohli who makes them the title contender

Cricket is a team game, where every individual has a fair share of contribution for the team to reach the crown. But the present status in the Indian cricket team looks like a complete contrary. The astounding performances of batting mainstay Virat Kohli in a team game is almost a strong resemblances of what Novak Djokovic has been doing in tennis. It’s impossible to imagine, team India if we take Kohli out of the equation.

The peerless things Kohli has been doing in this World T20 on the home soil is absolutely majestic. There are many instances when he has been sublime for India in all three formats, but the present World T20 puts the Delhi batsman in a different zone.

This is Virat’s fifth ICC event in all formats, including the victorious campaign in his maiden World Cup in 2011. He scored a stupendous hundred in his World Cup debut against Bangladesh in Dhaka, set a strong message to the cricketing world that this man is up for something mountainous. He has shown it numerous times that he is a master in chasing the targets. Virat has the distinct ability to read, understand and handle different circumstances. He isn’t bothered with the field that has been set up for him or the type of attack the opposition is planning, he just back his own strength and dictates his own terms. It’s difficult as a captain to find the right ploy to stop the unravelling cricketer, as Steve Smith is one of the many captains who is unable to do so in a sold out PCA stadium at Mohali

At the start of the World T20, India was given the pre-tournament favourites tag, due to some versatile players in all the three departments. Though Kohli factor is one of the many reasons for it, but the decider in Mohali has made one thing very clear, the rest of the batting lineup stands aside and Virat has bettered them all on his own. He has carried India almost single-handedly while his top order mates failed on most occasions.

Apart from the blockbuster match against Australia, it’s important to mention the weighty innings Kohli played against the arch-rivals Pakistan at the Eden Gardens. Suppose, if Kohli performs at this level, where the others fail consistently and India go on to win the World T20 for the second time, it’s almost possible to say, Kohli won them the World Cup. He’s been carrying all the emotions and stakes of a million people on his shoulders. Though the responsibility has heavily been on his shoulders he seems to be relishing it and is hungry to out-score the opposition each time he takes the field.

This has been a huge tournament in Virat’s cricketing career, irrespective of the achievements he’s been producing year after year. It also provides a platform to stop all the mocks, put against him, one such instance was that in the World Cup semi-final against Australia in 2015. It’s unfair to say that the Indian fans have found the next Sachin. But yes they certainly have in Virat Kohli someone to bank upon.

How long India will rely on Kohli. When will the other batsmen step up? There are many such questions floating around before the last four encounter against West Indies in Mumbai. Let’s just hope he and India don’t blink when it matters the most.

Written by Pragadeesh Shanmugam

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