Former chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar, who gave Virat the break in international cricket, lavishes praise on India Test captain
Virat Kohli faced three testing balls from Adil Rashid from round the wicket on 199 on Sunday. While one took a leading edge off the rough but landed short of the bowler, another one was almost chopped back on to the stumps by the India captain. England were taking their time to bowl the fourth ball, and the crowd was getting impatient.
However, none of that was affecting the man himself. Kohli calmly tucked the fourth ball past midwicket to complete his double hundred – third this year – that he will remember for a long, long time. And, indeed, the Mumbai crowd as well.
Every spectator in the stadium stood up in unison at that moment, admiring and priding on the latest marvel of Indian cricket.
But one person who would've been doubly proud to see Kohli get the double at the Wankhede is Dilip Vengsarkar. The former national chairman of selectors picked a young, in-your-face Virat Kohli for an ODI series against Sri Lanka after watching the Delhi boy hit a century in the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia.
That knock convinced Vengsarkar that Kohli was made for the big league. Eight years on, the Mumbaikar was witnessing his investment provide dividends for the country in front of his own eyes.
"I'm really happy and proud of the fact that we spotted him and picked him in the team. We knew that he was special, and look where he is now. He's the best batsman in the world by far at the moment," Vengsarkar told DNA while watching Kohli complete the remarkable feat here on Sunday.
The former India captain, who is now the vice-president of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), has himself played and watched many an epic knock at the Wankhede. He placed Kohli's 235 right at the top of all those.
"It is among the very top knocks played at the Wankhede," he said. "Every innings that you rate is as per the role that it plays for the team. This double century from Kohli rescued India and put them in a really commanding position. A knock that puts a team ahead in a Test match is always much more valuable. It was a remarkable innings."
Perhaps, that is why the skipper's third double century was better than the previous two he achieved in July and October this year. His knock here came at the backdrop of England notching up 400 in the first innings, it came when India were gasping at 307/6, it came by guiding a quality No. 9 batsman in Jayant Yadav with him.
Kohli's previous two double tons – 200 against the West Indies in Antigua and 211 against New Zealand in Indore – were hit when India had won the toss, batted first and with the team in total control of their innings.
And therein lies the evolution of Kohli the batsman, with Kohli the leader playing a big role in it. Since taking over the leadership, Kohli doesn't throw away his wicket after a quality 80, 130 or 160. He knows the importance of scoring those 'daddy hundreds', of not just getting his team to a position of safety but a position of strength.
"The thing that made this innings special was the situation in which it came. Seeing England score 400 and your side losing three wickets in the middle order, it could've easily affected Kohli. But he instead took control of the situation himself, and played a fantastic knock," Vengsarkar said.
DID YOU KNOW?
Virat Kohli's last four Test hundreds have all been in excess of 150 – 200 vs West Indies, 211 vs New Zealand, 167 and 235 vs England
50.53
Virat Kohli's batting average in Tests after his 235, the first time his average has touched 50
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