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World Cup: Kohli and the battling acts of batting
Kohli still manages to surprise with his consistency. Hundred on birthday? Check. Hundred to go past Sachin’s record of hundreds? Check.
How far does one have to go to be recognised as the greatest World Cup batter? When Sachin Tendulkar got to 523 runs in 1996, it was hailed as a record for the ages. Till Tendulkar topped it again in 2003, ending with 673 runs. Stringing five hundreds, Rohit Sharma was in imperious touch in 2019 but fell 25 runs short of that record. This World Cup, however, Kohli not only went past Sharma and Tendulkar but also quietly crossed the 700-run mark to end with 765 runs at an average of 95.62, the highest ever for any batter to aggregate 600 runs in a World Cup; which, by the way, is a small club of six batters.
That is still probably not the talking point of Kohli the accumulator, the chaser, the sustainer at this World Cup. In the twilight of his career, Kohli still manages to surprise with his consistency and sense of occasion. A hundred on his birthday? Check. A hundred to go past Tendulkar’s all-time record of 49 ODI hundreds, with the great man looking on from the stands at the ground he grew up and later owned? Check.
Once you are done being the fanboy over the headlining acts, here’s some more context. The first hundred came on possibly the trickiest pitch to bat on, where India had given themselves the mandate of out-batting South Africa, the most powerful batting line-up of the World Cup. No six, 10 boundaries, and with a strike rate much less than his career aggregate, Kohli displayed clarity of the rarest order. “My role was to bat deep and till the end after the openers fell because that’s what I’ve done, that was the communication as well — to have guys bat around me,” Kohli said later.
The hundred against New Zealand in the semi-final came at a quicker pace — a strike rate of 103.53 — but still slower than Sharma (162.06), Shubman Gill (121.21), Shreyas Iyer (150) and KL Rahul (195). Yet everyone would have vouched how they couldn’t have attacked without Kohli’s ever assuring presence. Like he again put it after the match: “For me the most important thing is to make my team win. I’ve been given a role this tournament and I’m trying to dig deep.”
If Kohli dug deep, Sharma finally showed what expressing oneself looks like. Second on the list of run-getters, with just one hundred but 31 sixes — seven more than David Warner and Shreyas Iyer — and a sensational strike rate of 125.94, Sharma is a living, breathing example of how a batter can adapt to any situation if he intends to. To unshackle the batting potential of his side, Sharma selflessly donned the role of an enforcer, giving India blazing starts — against Australia, twice against New Zealand, against Netherlands, South Africa, Bangladesh and Pakistan. He was, in every sense of the word, a true enabler of India in this World Cup.
And also to Kohli in the larger context, which is significant considering the buildup to this World Cup. Sharma became captain because Kohli had been forced out of it. And he didn’t mince words in a widely publicised press conference before touring South Africa. That the entire episode coincided with an uncharacteristically long lean run only made Kohli’s reaction come across as even more caustic. But these two — not just India’s best batters but also GOATS in their own right — bonded on a level arcane to everyone.
Quinton de Kock did something similar with South Africa’s batting. He was always the attacking sort, one of the finest pullers in the game. But in a World Cup he had declared will be his final ODI, de Kock recalibrated his approach into a more cautious one, allowing Heinrich Klaasen, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram and David Miller to bat around him. South Africa, as a result, were in marauding form, averaging some of the biggest scores in the edition with de Kock ending with four hundreds — the most in this World Cup.
Equally fascinating was how Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell stepped up for New Zealand. Going into the World Cup, Kane Williamson was doubtful because of an injury, prompting New Zealand to not only add Ravindra in the squad but also make him open. Devon Conway was always tipped to do better in India, given his proven quality as a Test opener (he scored a double hundred against England on debut) and considerable Indian Premier League experience. But Ravindra, aggregating 578 runs in his first World Cup, surprised everyone with his attacking batting.
First came a stupendous hundred against England in a tournament opener that proved to be a mismatch of epic proportions, largely because of Ravindra’s five sixes. More breathtaking was a hundred in an almost improbable chase of 388 — against Australia no less — at Dharamsala. The only reason New Zealand stayed alive in the chase till the last over was because of Ravindra, who hit nine fours and five sixes in 116 in what was only his 14th ODI innings.
Mitchell’s rise in this World Cup was equally storied. For a No.4 batter, Mitchell has an amazing ability to switch gears quickly. That 67-ball 89 against Bangladesh was the first indication of what was to come before Mitchell chose India for two of his best innings — 130 at Dharamsala and 134 at Wankhede. New Zealand lost both times, but thanks to Mitchell, who aggregated 552 runs at a strike rate of 111, they never gave in.
