Failure was not an option for Virat Kohli, coming in to this Test, and he ensured he delivered, albeit in an understated way
S Aga25-Nov-2011On the surface, there were similarities between the two. One was playinghis third Test, the other his fourth. Both had won Test honours largely asa result of eye-catching displays in one-day colours. But while R Ashwin -who sat out the World Cup final – had taken to Test cricket with élan,picking up 18 wickets, Virat Kohli’s arrival at the crease was effectivelyan audition for next month’s tour of Australia.Kohli has fond memories of this ground, having played a crucial cameo inthe World Cup final. But in the Test arena, he has yet to find hisfooting. A debut series in the West Indies that produced just 75 runs infive innings had the critics carping, and he had no part to play in thedebacle that subsequently unfolded in England.Both he and Ashwin starred in the one-day successes against England, butonly one man was a certain starter in this Test series. While Kohliwatched Yuvraj Singh fluff his lines in Delhi and Kolkata, Ashwin wasensuring that he would be one of the first names written down for theAustralian touring party.With Rohit Sharma in the squad for this game and Ajinkya Rahane also inthe reckoning, Kohli knew that failure was not an option. “When I cameinto the team, we had this team meeting with someone new in the teamgiving a speech,” he said after a fourth day during which his 52 and a97-run partnership with Ashwin saved India from the ignominy of thefollow-on. “They made me do that again. I said that my first series was adisappointment and hopefully I can get things right this time around.”I was in a good mental space before this series. I got runs againstEngland, but it is a totally different ball game – Test cricket. It wasdifficult for me because I was thinking too many things. I put myselfunder pressure in the West Indies, thinking too many things, not sure whatI wanted to do.”The cat-on-hot-tin-roof feeling was apparent again at times today, and instark contrast to the nonchalance with which Ashwin went about hisbusiness. “He came out and started playing shots,” said Kohli with themerest hint of a smile. “I am standing at one end trying to handlepressure, trying to get the situation right, and he gets five fours in 10balls. He was pretty relaxed and confident because of what he’d done withthe ball.Virat Kohli’s 52 may have done enough in sealing his spot in the Boxing Day Test•AFP”It was good he was in that kind of space. He came out and timed the ballwell. It was good to have him scoring from one end. I could bat myself inand spend more time in the middle. It was a verygood innings.”His own innings had started in Sachin Tendulkar’s company, with a largecrowd throbbing with excitement at the prospect of history being made.Within the hour though, expectancy had given way to anxiety. “It’s not aneasy position [No. 6] to bat in Tests,” said Kohli. “When I went in, I wasplaying with a set batsman. As soon as two batsmen got out, I had to bethe one to play with lower-order batsmen. It was a complete transition inhalf hour.”The partnership with Tendulkar was brief, but he apparently had a biginfluence in the way Kohli approached this game. “I spoke to Sachin, andhe told me to do the same things I do normally, on any given day,” hesaid. “I went in a difficult situation in the morning, but I cherishplaying under pressure.”With Ashwin playing the aggressor’s role, Kohli could ease his way intoproceedings, and he got as far as 52 before a miscue to mid-on offDevendra Bishoo. “Definitely, the way I was going, the way the situationwas, it was the perfect scenario for me to get a big score,” he said. “Iwanted to go with the turn, but did not get too much elevation. I middledthe ball but it went it straight to the fielder.”The biggest challenges had come much earlier, with the West Indies bowlerstargeting a perceived weakness against short-pitched bowling. “I wastagged as someone who cannot play the short ball after West Indies, sowhen I went in, I knew they were going to throw short balls at me,” hesaid. “I am more of a mindset player. I need to be in the right frame ofmind. Today was one of those days when I thought that it didn’t matter ifthey bowled short. I was going to get a full stride out. I had a blankmind before playing every ball – that kind of helped. It’s all a menta -toughness game out there.”Lessons have been imbibed from a dressing room that knows a thing or twoabout toughness. “I never thought I would even get to meet thesepeople face to face,” said Kohli. “Now I’m sharing the dressing room. Youlearn so many things from them, especially in practicesessions. They will take a certain number of catches every day, theywill hit certain amount of balls. It’s not something they are complacentabout. That’s what makes them great players.”For India to pull off an unlikely victory on Saturday, they need wicketsto fall in a heap in the morning. “Our aim was to get early breakthroughs,which we did,” said Kohli. “We would have loved to have them four wicketsdown, but it did not happen. Tomorrow could be interesting if we could getearly wickets and may be get one-and-a-half sessions to bat.”He batted over a session today and may just have sealed a spot for himselfin the Boxing Day Test. On a day when Ashwin stole the limelight fromeveryone, Kohli’s understated impact could have similar long-termramifications for a side in transition.
