THE CHASE-MASTER

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.

Venue – Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali [October 23, 2016].

Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batsmen of our times. In the words of Martin Crowe, who wrote way back in 2014 that he, along with Kane Williamson, Steve Smith and Joe Root, constitutes a Fab 4 who would rule the world of cricket in the coming years. And rightly said, these 4 batsmen of our generation did go on to conquer the world and prove Martin Crowe right. However, when it comes to chasing targets in an ODI or T20 game, no one comes closer to Kohli. He is the ultimate cricketer a team needs during a run chase in a white-ball game. It seems Kohli enjoys himself the most when he has a target in front of him. This post is about one of his best run-chases.

In the autumn of 2016, the New Zealand Cricket Team toured India to play 3 test matches and 5 one-day internationals. The test series ended in a 3-0 win for the hosts, but the ODI series was levelled 1-1 at the end of the second game. The drama for the third game now moved from Delhi to Mohali, wherein we met for yet another exciting clash between two strong sides.

MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to field first on what looked like a good batting wicket. The Kiwis started off pretty well but were struggling in the middle overs. At one stage the New Zealand scorecard read 199/8 with 12.1 overs still left in the innings. It seemed that the Kiwis would be bowled out in no time. But this is when Jimmy Neesham and Matt Henry stitched a valuable partnership of 84 runs and brought the Kiwis back into the game. The visitors were eventually bowled out for 285 in 49.4 overs, with the hosts now needing 286 to win the game and take a 2-1 lead in the series.

The run chase was not going to be an easy one, as the Kiwis had a strong and formidable bowling attack. Furthermore, the visitors got off to a great start as they dismissed both the Indian openers cheaply. However, they did make one mistake in between, and that cost them the match. In the 5th over of the Indian innings, Ross Taylor dropped an easy catch of Virat Kohli, who was then batting on just 6 runs. It was a huge moment in the match. If Henry would have got Virat's wicket at that moment, the game would have been done and dusted right there. However, the drop turned out to be an expensive one for the Kiwis, as Kohli played a masterclass and took his side home comfortably.

In a match-winning innings which lasted for nearly three and a half hours, Virat Kohli scored a monumental 154* off just 134 deliveries and won the game single-handedly. It is interesting to note that in this knock of his, Kohli scored 16 boundaries and 1 six, which implies that he scored the remaining 84 runs by running between the wickets. Moreover, throughout the chase he never played another rash shot and still managed to keep the required rate within limits. The target of 286 in a ground like Mohali is never an easy task. But Virat Kohli played with such a calculated approach that the balance of the match never shifted towards the other side. In the words of Sunil Gavaskar, he has a computer fit in his mind. The way he maintained the run rate throughout the Indian innings and the manner in which he found gaps in the ground was simply superb. Apart from Virat Kohli, Captain Dhoni too scored a gritty 80 as the hosts won the game by 7 wickets and took a 2-1 lead in the series.

The run chase rightly justified the chase-master tag given to King Kohli by the cricket fraternity.

To watch that Innings of Virat Kohli, Click Here.