A lot can happen in a week in politics, and we knew T20 games are usually too close to call. But what we just found out is that even one over - six balls- can create extraordinary edge-of-the boundary- excitement.
Post the Pakistan game and the great escape, India proved that impossible, certainly, is nothing. The team was in a hopeless hole, no team should win with 28 to get from 8 regardless of the quality of the opposition. But the miracle happened and the result brings into focus technical advances of cricket’s shortest format .
It confirms that T20 is an extremely treacherous beast- soon as someone thinks they have it sorted it springs a surprise. Only yesterday the template was to protect wickets in the beginning, build partnerships - then blast off towards the end like rockets from Sriharikota.
Then, the script was rewritten, a fresh draft made. Embracing a new strategy, teams started playing the entire 20 overs as one big powerplay with batsmen instructed to keep foot on the pedal from ball one. Everyone gifted a license to keep swinging their bats, encouraged to ‘express’ themselves. Jos Buttler showcased this approach by teeing off with a driver to ensure 60 in the first six. Stoinis adopted similar methods to muscle the ball for 60 in the last five . The other day against Sri Lanka he hit 10 balls out of the 18 he faced to the boundary - something Chris Gayle or Kieron Pollard would be immensely proud of.
Faced by this aggressive barrage, bowlers changed strategy and invented new trick. The traditional yorker underwent a makeover, and in its place emerged the slow yorker and then another clever variant, the wide yorker. Quick bowlers realised bowling fast invited punishment, so the best bet for self-defense was to take pace off and bowl loopy stuff. Bowling described by Viv Richards as ‘I play today, ball come tomorrow’ stuff. Harshal Patel summed this up neatly when he said it’s ok for a fast bowler to bowl 24 slow balls.
{{/usCountry}}Faced by this aggressive barrage, bowlers changed strategy and invented new trick. The traditional yorker underwent a makeover, and in its place emerged the slow yorker and then another clever variant, the wide yorker. Quick bowlers realised bowling fast invited punishment, so the best bet for self-defense was to take pace off and bowl loopy stuff. Bowling described by Viv Richards as ‘I play today, ball come tomorrow’ stuff. Harshal Patel summed this up neatly when he said it’s ok for a fast bowler to bowl 24 slow balls.
{{/usCountry}}In T20 cricket, off spinners are extinct like the cheetah and Ashwin comes into play largely to restrict left handers. This because the latest new mantra is about matchups, which are customised plans for key players, sort of man-to-man combat. If batter X comes in, bowler Y is handed the ball. Match ups are overrated according to Hardik Pandya who asserts he plays the situation, not the bowler, but the trend reflects the growing role of analysis and date crunching. In any T20 set up, the video analyst is as important as the coach.
But the grammar of T20 cricket has not changed - the core remains the same and Virat Kohli confirmed this in his match winning innings. Despite the steep challenge he stuck to conventional methods, didn’t hit across the line, nor went cute with reverse/ paddle sweep/ switch hit. Just sensible batting to convert pressure into positive energy to raise his game. He aced the chase, effortlessly changing gears at the right time.
After a particularly barren phase (no hundred for three years) this has been as astonishing comeback for Kohli. In a way, the monarchy he lost when stripped of captaincy has been restored. The King is back on the throne and, like the good old days, devoted subjects are happy.
Not without reason because Kohli is a once in a generation player who has ruled multiple formats for more than a decade. And it is not only the runs and centuries, his lasting contribution is to merge class with consistency, not accept being second best and to keep pushing the bar. Waqar Younis, a huge fan, says he inspires others to become fitter and better.
Virat’s cricket has Nadal-like relentless intensity and Federer’s rage for excellence. His strong mindset allowed him to overcome setbacks in a phase he described as ‘difficult’. He battled self doubts and in a confused state tried to become the batsman that he never was. Now, it seems, the clouds have lifted and the sunshine is back. Kohli manufactured magic against Pakistan, pulling a rabbit out of his bat and said this was his best considering the ‘magnitude’ of the game.
A blue moon is a rare occurrence and even a player of Kohli’s caliber will not be able to replicate this effort. Nor will he, or anyone else for that matter, hit that improbable backfoot straight six. That is now part of India- Pakistan cricket folklore - as significant as Miandad’s memorable last ball hit off Chetan Sharma.
Virat is not 360 like ABD, nor is he as brutal as Chris Gayle. But in the context of the changing technique of T20 cricket his imprint is no less. He stands for continuity and change and dominates a world that is old and new.