His state of Zen, his Excalibur, and his belief were the notes of Virat’s symphony at MCG

MELBOURNE:   Between the last Test match of an in­complete series against England to the Asia Cup in Dubai, Virat Kohli did not touch a cricket bat. Though he brought it out to display that the vintage apparatus still works in Dubai, it was at cricket’s biggest stage, at the biggest arena, where Melbourne became Mum­bai that King Kohli waved his bat like the sword of Excalibur.

Cricket writers and stat­isticians will write, and you shall read the details of Virat Kohli’s masterclass which took India out of the absolute doldrums across print and digital.

But years later this will be seen much more than a knock of cricket. This was a master class of life, dis­played in 53 balls. In draw­ing rooms and in boardrooms, in classrooms and in conferences Virat Kohli’s innings of 82 on Oc­tober 23, 2022, at Mel­bourne will be a life lesson, not just a cricket knock.

When ordinary mortals see the embers and the smoldering ashes, Virat sees clues in those embers. Clues of resurrection. That’s the time when the King Arthur of world cricket brought out his Excalibur. The Excalibur — the Sword of King Arthur was as much a legend as a su­perhuman or a supernatu­ral being. It is also seen as a sword that was pulled out of a rock by Arthur, from where a Tuscan knight had plunged it.

On Sunday, Virat was Arthur, and his bat his Excalibur. And his innings – stuff that legends are made of.

But before we get into that, let’s just step back from the madness, the eu­phoria, the bursting of Diwali crackers in the Melbourne cricket ground, from the rangolis painted on the streets and walls of Melbourne, graciously al­lowed and encouraged by the Melbourne city council and from the fans from Pak­istan and India who flew in from the USA, just for this game.

Let us step back and look at just one word that out defines everything that will be written, spoken, and tweeted about Virat’s in­nings -“BELIEF”

Get into a zen-Iike avatar and focus on how this im­possible run chase was achieved with four wickets down for 30-odd. At the end of the 17th over India was 112 for 4 needing 48 in 3 overs or 18 balls. With two fours by Kohli in that over, the equation changed to 129 for 4 after 18, still, 31 were needed in two overs. This was not the I PL by the way, but a World Cup match vs Pakistan with arguably the best bowling attack in the world.

In the first 4 balls of the 19th over just 3 runs were scored. It was all over. Flashback Dubai. Flash­back Champions Trophy defeat in England. Ball No. 5. The very clever Haris

Rauf bowls slow and short. Kohli back away draws his Excalibur and slams it back and over for a straight six.

Last ball of over 19. Ball on leg stump. Almost on re­flex, he flicks it over fine leg for a six, with a grace of a music conductor guiding his symphony. Virat’s music was reaching a crescendo. But it was not over yet. The wand still had to do more magic.

Still 16 off the last over needed. We all know what happened. 2 wickets, one no-ball, two wides, two wickets, with Ashwin hit­ting the winning runs. But in all this, it’s easy to forget the most crucial ball when bowler Nawaz managed to hit Virat’s stumps off a free hit ball. As it deflected off the stumps Virat ran three byes. Only a guru with his calm would know that a free-hit ball doesn’t be­come dead after hitting the stumps. The Pakistanis complained but it was the guru who knew the rules.

After it was all over and he couldn’t hold back his tears, he returned very briefly to the dressing room and then came again for the awards. There was a teardrop still there, fresh and lingering which he didn’t quite make an effort to wipe. That drop told the story of a boy who lost his father early, the boy who climbed the Everest of crick­eting greatness before form, and self-doubt made Virat search for answers. He stepped back, retreated, picked himself up, and did the hard yards over and over again, batting for op­tional sessions, reaching the ground 30 inins before oth­ers before the Brisbane warm-up game to practice and telling his batting coach that he needs five more minutes at the nets in the eve of the MCG game. Each move is a case study, an ex­ample that will reverberate in classrooms and board rooms.

Above all, it is belief that opens the door to the labo­ratory of greatness that each one of us have. On a Sunday Diwali eve night in Melbourne, King Kohli, his Excalibur, and his belief showed us how the chem­istry of greatness works.