Virat Kohli once again stood tall as India’s lone warrior, but his brilliance wasn’t enough to prevent New Zealand from scripting a historic series win on Indian soil. Battling immense pressure, Kohli struck a superb 124, holding the chase together even as wickets fell around him. Other batters, however, failed to apply themselves, playing rash shots and gifting their wickets at crucial moments. Kohli continued to fight, shouldering the responsibility as the asking rate climbed. When the burden finally became too heavy, he miscued a lofted shot to long-off, where Daryl Mitchell completed the catch, effectively ending India’s hopes.
Kohli’s knock featured 10 boundaries and three sixes across his 108 balls at the crease, but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome. New Zealand sealed a 41-run win, bowling India out for 296 in 46 overs.
India batting great Sunil Gavaskar lauded Kohli’s adaptability and clarity of purpose, highlighting what sets him apart from most batters. According to the former India captain, Kohli’s greatness lies in his freedom from labels, which allows him to shape his innings purely to the demands of the moment.
“The thing about him is that he’s not tied down to an image.. A lot of batters, a lot of bowlers are tied down to an image. That this is the way, you know, they are perceived, and so they should stick to that. I don’t think it is tied down to an image. He’s tied down to the job at hand. The job at hand is to score runs, maybe watchfully to start with, and then open out, or score bang-bang at the start and then spread the field and then look for the ones and twos. He’s not tied down by any image, and that is the reason he is consistent,” Gavaskar said on JioHotstar after India’s series defeat.
Gavaskar hails Kohli’s temperament, urges youth to follow his example
The former Indian cricketer further underlined Kohli’s mental strength and resilience, stressing that his consistency stems as much from temperament as from talent. The batting great pointed to Kohli’s refusal to chase expectations, his willingness to play the situation, and his never-say-die attitude as lessons for young cricketers to emulate.
“Apart from his talent, of course, and temperament. And when I said not tied down by image, I talk about the temperament. Temperament not to say, “Oh, I’m expected to hit the six.” It’s not that. He will watch it and do it, and he never gives up. He refuses to give up,” Gavaskar added. So even till the end, he was trying that a little tired shot. Sometimes you know the gloves can get a bit sweaty, and so the grip on the handle would have gone a little bit awry. And that’s why, instead of going straight, the bad face turned up and he was caught inside the boundary. For me, this is the important thing to learn for any for any youngster, not to live up to an image, play the situation, and you will be more consistent than ever hoped for,” he added.
