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New Delhi: The legend of Virat Kohli reached gigantic proportions as the reigning superstar of Indian cricket virtually made the World Twenty20 a one-man show till his team’s campaign ended in the semi-final against West Indies due to lackadaisical effort from leading bowlers.
Qualifying for the semi-final should not be considered bad at all in the final context of the tournament but given the familiar setting of the home conditions, one hoped that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s boys would not end up second best in a last-four clash on a belter of a pitch with vocal crowd support.
If Kohli was the brightest spot for India, the bowling of Ravichandran Ashwin and especially Ravindra Jadeja on sub-continental tracks looked pedestrian. A total of eight wickets between them (4 each) in five matches is a testimony to the fact. The duo were not penetrative enough on turners and on a good batting track like Wankhede, they looked clueless.
Coming back to the positives, Kohli has slowly and surely turned into the rightful claimant to Sachin Tendulkar’s throne as the carrier of a billion hopes.
Kohli scored 273 runs in five matches but more than the volume of runs, it was the quality of his batsmanship that left everyone yearning for more.
If an unbeaten 55 against Pakistan on a rank turner was all about artistry, the undefeated 82 is a stuff of legends on how one can win a T20 game with copybook cricket. The 89 not out in the semi-final was another tremendous effort even though he had a slice of luck.
Most of his 29 boundaries were classical shots – whether it was the cover drive or the square drive, which he can now get patented. Not to forget the rolling of wrists when he hits the pull shot in front of square. (PTI)