Every now and then, a batter produces an innings that feels larger than the runs attached to it. Virat Kohli’s Sunday scorebook at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans IPL final will record an usual 75 off 42 balls. History will jot down something else.
King Kohli has had some aggressive innings and some restrained. He has played innings in which he seems to be carrying the burden of a franchise, a tournament, or an entire cricket-loving nation on his shoulders. And then there are those rare evenings when he walks out to bat looking as though the outcome has already been decided somewhere inside his head.
On Sunday’s final, Kohli’s demeanour suggested he had reached the ground with a personal understanding of how the night would unfold. He was confident — as many great players are — but as he stepped out to bat at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, he looked entirely certain.
So, when Titans skipper Shubman Gill took what appeared to be a fine catch, Kohli, with 63 runs on the board, reviewed the decision with the air of a man correcting an administrative error. The replay eventually showed what he seemed to know already — that the ball had brushed the ground and he was not out. Kohli laughed, shrugged and continued the chase at the crease.
A King Kohli masterclass
Wicket after wicket tumbled, but Kohli remained unbothered. Kohli even treated an injury that had him limping between deliveries as a minor inconvenience.
He smashed boundaries and walked off with swag. He swung his bat in his signature style and blew kisses to the audience. He laughed and muttered to himself, as if reassuring himself who he is and what he is capable of.
It was a King Kohli masterclass from the very first ball of the second innings to the end.
Finals are supposed to be tense affairs. They are meant to tighten the muscles, cloud judgment, and magnify every mistake. Yet Kohli batted as though he had wandered into an everyday net practice session, completely confident of his craft.
The old Kohli would have attacked the contest with visible ferocity. The clenched jaw, the pumping fists, the raw emotional energy that made him the defining cricketer of his generation.
The Kohli of today is a more complete and possibly a more dangerous proposition.
Also read: Rajat Patidar is RCB’s messiah. He is at par with Dhoni, Rohit Sharma
From Sachin to Federer to Messi
The aggression remains intact, but experience has wrapped it in perspective. The fire still burns, but it no longer rages uncontrollably. He now has a remarkable sense of self-possession. He combines the hunger of the young Kohli with the wisdom of a player who has spent nearly two decades discovering exactly how good he can be.
So, he can now stop trying to prove his greatness. He’s already operating from it.
Sachin Tendulkar had it in the latter years of his career. So did tennis ace Roger Federer and football legend Lionel Messi. They reached a point where self-belief ceased to be a motivational tool and became their natural state of existence.
Those who watched Kohli’s Sunday innings will remember a cricketer who was enjoying himself in the middle of the biggest game of the IPL season. And they all knew Kohli could go it alone.
Because when the GOAT is this certain about his game, everybody else is usually playing for second place.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)