Roughly around 4:40pm, after a two-hour net session at the Dubai cricket stadium, Virat Kohli stepped into the team bus that was parked right outside the dressing room. Not far from the bus, a kid perched on his father’s shoulders let out a desperate cry: “Kohli bhaiya…please ek ticket dedo,” (please give me a ticket) drawing chuckles.
Moments later, Kohli stepped out of the bus, headed towards that kid to pose for a photograph and put his signature on the kid’s cap. In a rare instance, for the next couple of minutes, Kohli would go about engaging with each of his fans before disappearing. Not just young kids, but adults have been losing their heads in admiration at his fabulous run in this tournament.
Last month in Pakistan, a photo of a couple had gone viral. They were clad in jerseys in Pakistan colours but with a twist: the name and the number on the back was Virat Kohli and 18. The sales and sightings of his No.18 jersey have been tremendous, unsurprisingly.
“In the past as well, when India came here, we always got a lot of takers for the merchandise. This time, thanks to Kohli, it has been even bigger. In the past three weeks, we have sold over 100 T-shirts here alone,” says Jamal, who runs a store.
Pat Cummins pick up Virat Kohli’s wicket in 2023 World Cup final. (FILE)
The importance of this final for Kohli can’t be downplayed; the greatest ODI batsman has had a rather skewed relationship with the title clashes in ICC tournaments in the 50-over format, where he averages just 35 in four innings. The 54 he scored in the 2023 World Cup final remains his highest. But he has already started well in Dubai with a match-winning 84 in the semifinal against Australia; just one more game awaits.
The backdrop to the tournament too can’t be understated. He was part of the Indian team that went down tamely to New Zealand at home in a historic 0-3 Test series whitewash. Very soon, he faced more hurt and embarrassment in Australia where his touch and judgement deserted him, often getting dismissed chasing balls outside off stump. That tour would go down for a few unpleasant images: the infamous shoulder barge with a teenager Sam Konstas, his duels with the barracking Australian crowds, but his bat, the one thing that ought to have spoken, fell silent. He went to the Ranji Trophy but saw his stump cartwheeling. It’s with this heap of criticism that he walked into the Champions Trophy to take control of his own destiny.
Over their three-week stay in Dubai, where India have played outstanding cricket en route to their third straight final appearance in a major event, if anyone has stood out with his batting on these sluggish pitches, it is Kohli. A fortnight ago, when India played Pakistan, he played an innings to savour, scoring an unbeaten 100. Last Tuesday, when India played the semi-finals against Australia, for the major part of the first innings, nearly half the stadium remained empty. But when Kohli walked in, he did so to a full house, with the busy Sheik Mohammed Bin Zayed road that connects Dubai to Abu Dhabi coming to a standstill because of the heavy traffic inflow to the Sports City.
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As the late writer Peter Roebuck wrote, if Sachin Tendulkar brought a train to halt at a station for a few minutes when he was nearing a century in the 90s, these days the same can be said of Kohli, particularly in the ODIs. The format may be losing its charm elsewhere, but through Kohli it continues to remain a big draw for India.
Virat Kohli batting against Australia. (AP photo)
During the World Cup on home soil in 2023, Kohli shattered records to amass 765 runs in 11 innings, the most by any player. Here in the Champions Trophy, Kohli may not be in the top-three run getters, but with 217 runs (10 short of the highest run scorer) he has been India’s go-to batsman.
The unbeaten 100 against Pakistan and 84 against Australia had just 12 boundaries to show and some of those memories could fade, but the sight of him hustling between the wickets, stealing singles at every opportunity has been a sight to behold. Speaking on the show Dressing Room, former India coach Ravi Shastri rates such innings — getting the job done in singles and twos — as a sign of Kohli in good touch.
“He is at his best. It reminds me of some of the great one-day players of the past, like (former Pakistan player) Javed Miandad. If you look at Javed’s best innings — the match-winning knocks — few boundaries, but running between the wickets, ones, twos, the energy… takes the pressure off the non-striker and never allows the scoreboard to be stagnant. It is moving all the time and that’s Kohli for you. When he is at his best, it is very few boundaries and sixes, but fantastic running between the wickets. Then you know he is in complete control and has a game plan in place,” Shastri said.
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But going into the final, Kohli knows he has one incomplete job at hand. Though he has scored a match-winning knock in T20I World Cup final, such a knock of substance has been missing in his favourite format. On Sunday, against New Zealand, Kohli has an opportunity to correct that and give India another tournament to remember.