Feroz Shah Kotla: The struggle and turmoil of Virat Kohli seems to have abated after his 78-ball 62 against West Indies in the second one-dayer on Saturday at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
Kohli has been struggling for form since the last tour of England, but at his home turf he stayed patient and was willing to spend more time at the crease, which eventually paid off. He walked in at number four, not his usual batting position when India were 50 for 2 in 12 overs.
With 109 runs in total from seven innings since his last ODI hundred (136 vs Bangladesh in Fatullah in February 2014), Kohli cut down on his aggressive instinct and looked happy with the singles and doubles. But during his knock, he played few handsome looking shots, be it the late cuts or subtle flicks through the midwicket. The old Kohli was emerging from the shadows, if not that flamboyant.
After getting to his 31st ODI half-century off a single to the midwicket, Kohli looked mighty relieved as he raised his bat in celebration. He would know the importance of this knock and that to played under tremendous pressure.
Moreover, batting along with an in-form Suresh Raina helped Kohli as the former started to play his shots right from the start despite India having lost two early wickets. Both the batsmen forged a 105-run partnership, which helped India post 263 for 7 batting first.
However, some credit should be spared for the bowlers especially Mohammad Shami (4 for 36) and Ravindra Jadeja (3 for 44) for bundling out West Indies for 215 in 46.3 overs.
The score of 263 was not a defendable total after opener Dwayne Smith (97) started off in an attacking fashion but Indian bowlers did well to stay in the game by chipping away with wickets at regular interval. Three more games to go and this could be anybody’s series.
Coming back to Kohli, from here he can’t afford to become complacent and in the upcoming matches should go for the elusive three-figure score to get back his lost confidence and form.
