True grit: A Virat Kohli masterclass in 44 runs

As lack of light stopped play on day two (or is it day one?), the broadcaster pulled up a graphical take on how late Virat Kohli was playing the ball en route to his, at the time, 40 not out off 105 balls. It was a cover drive, and the ball was right under his eyes at the point willow touched leather. It was almost Rahul Dravid-like. Almost. The Wall, at times, used to let the ball hit the bat, instead of the other way round. But Kohli always wants to score. Why smother the ball when you can guide it into gaps and run like you’re playing a T20?

When Kohli had walked in to bat, opener Rohit Sharma was back in the hut and Shubman Gill was joining him there. They had put on a 62-run stand and had taken a leaf out of Kohli’s playbook by leaving balls outside the off stump and batting out of their crease to negate the swing. Their captain had done the same during the 2018 tour of England, finding a lot more success than he had in the nightmarish 2014 series there.

Talking about that outing to former England captain Nasser Hussain, Kohli said, “The problem with me was that I was expecting in-swingers too much and opened up my hip a lot more than I should have done. I was constantly looking for the in-swinger and was in no position to counter the outswing.”

But if 2018 was about righting a wrong, 2021 was about staying the course. He started off slowly, cautious but not fearful. Save for a signature cover drive off Neil Wagner, Kohli was leaving, defending and tucking away the ball to the onside for singles. After each having played 42 balls, Cheteshwar Pujara had a better strike rate than Kohli.

Hussain had said earlier in the day that the Dukes ball would probably swing more around the 12- or 13-over mark, and would swing for longer. And though Tim Southee and Trent Boult were searching for the right channels (like an uncle struggling with a smart TV), Kyle Jamieson and Neil Wagner were right on the money. The deceptive Colin de Grandhomme, mullet bobbing up and down, was also accurate to Kohli.

At the end of the day, analyst Ben Jones wrote, “The average swing movement today (2.46°) is the most New Zealand have found in a Test innings since records began. Only four innings since 2006, from any team anywhere in the world, have swung more.”

Patience and discipline were the virtues of Kohli’s innings. Rarely did he play a shot that was not required; he did flash at a wide bouncer from Wagner, cursed, smiled and then resumed. As a three-format player, and arguably the best all taken together, Kohli has format-specific shots for each ball. And that is what makes it even more special that he could curb his instincts, subdue his attacking skill and show “intent” by “not doing anything”.

Also impressive was his focus, especially with the session break and bad-light stoppages. To get into the grove needs almighty concentration, and you have to start from the beginning every time there’s a break. He began the post-tea session with a few pokes outside the off stump. And then it was Zen again. Although the umpires and their light-measuring device made him sigh, launching a hundred memes on Twitter, Kohli stuck it out.

Australian player Dan Christian recently shared a Kohli story on a podcast. Kyle Jamieson, the latest and tallest of the Kiwi pace attack, was talking to his Royal Challengers skipper, who cheekily asked him whether the tall man would have a go at him in the nets with the Dukes ball Jamieson was carrying in his kit. Kyle countered the guile with a polite refusal. But the exchange did highlight how important the final was to Kohli, and how much he wanted to be prepared for anything.

And prepared he was. As he resumes his innings on 44, ten years to the day he made his Test debut, Kohli would want to take his team to over 300. The elusive international century would be on the fans’ minds, but for Kohli, it will be about acing the Test and winning the game.