#INDvAUS: In the eye of storm

Until the start of the current India-Australia Test series, India captain Virat Kohli held the record for the most runs in a home season by an Indian Test batsman – 1,206 runs in nine Tests at 86.14.

His most dependable batsman in crisis, Cheteshwar Pujara, was not far behind. Kohli has had five successive failures in his series — a total of 46 runs. Pujara’s patient 202 in Ranchi and a brave 92 in Bengaluru Test second innings has taken him past his skipper for the most runs in a home season – 1,259 runs at 66.26.

It has lifted Pujara to career-best No. 2 ranking among Test batsmen on Tuesday, ahead of fourth-placed Kohli.

Kohli’s on-field non-performances with the bat has taken a back seat and his other actions are being discussed greatly, taking the sheen off the series that has been contested brilliantly except for a few sour incidents.

The Australian players’ and media’s obsession in portraying Kohli as a villain and calling him the “Donald Trump of world sport” is given more print space while nothing much is being said about their own captain Steve Smith’s unsportsmanlike action of seeking dressing room help for DRS in the second Test in Bengaluru. For them, Smith is a saint and it’s as if his ‘brainfade’ never happened.

At every press conference involving Australian players or support staff, a question or two, or their reaction, is asked on Kohli’s actions on the field and what he said to the media.

Kohli is not the one to be bothered about it. His focus is on guiding India to series victory and regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Dharamshala.Kohli scoring like he has been in the earlier series this season and guiding India to victory in Dharamshala will be a fitting reply to all those who have portrayed Kohli as a bad boy.

It is on this only count that Kohli has fallen behind Smith. The world No. 1 Test batsman has already scored two centuries in the series and tops the batting charts with 371 runs at 74.20.

It may seem ironic that Kohli, who has excelled against Australia in their backyard, is struggling for runs at home against the very opposition. Ghosts of an abject failure in England in 2014 may be haunting him.

However, one should not really read too much into his poor scores that read 0, 13, 12, 15 and 6 since Australia arrived in India. Kohli’s failures have not affected the team as others have stepped up their game.

Kohli’s teammate Murali Vijay said it was a matter of time before he scored another big one. Former India opener VB Chandrasekhar did not give much attention into Kohli’s lean patch.

Chandrasekhar, a former national selector, said: “Kohli is somebody who goes out and dominates the opposition. When the opposition dominates him, he has to find time to settle down.

“In these types of pitches, you need to grind the attack, which is difficult for Kohli. He starts playing shots and also needs a bit of luck initially. The first 10-15 minutes are so important for survival. He is likely to take a few chances early. And if it does not come off, it looks like he is struggling for runs. I don’t think it should matter much.”

It was to keep Kohli on strike early on and put him under pressure that the Australians thrive on. That was the reason Glenn Maxwell gave a long hard chase here to a Pujara drive to long on and save boundary. The batsmen took three, keeping Kohli on strike. To Kohli’s ill-luck, he was out the next delivery.

Kohli does not certainly have the mindset of Pujara, who played the longest Test innings by an Indian batsman while scoring 202 in 525 balls. Kohli is an attacking batsman who would score 400 if he were to play that many deliveries. Only last month, Kohli scored 204 in 246 in Hyderabad, his fourth Test in the last eight months. At nearly 83 per 100 balls.

The India captain, though, would love to bat for so long but will not compromise on his style of batting. Kohli said after the Ranchi Test: “I would love to bat that long, why not? See, everyone has a different style of batting. I wouldn’t change mine.

“Obviously, you learn and understand a lot of things from a lot of players all over. But yeah, everyone has his own strengths. If the situation demands you to play, 300 balls and score 50-60 runs, you obviously put in effort for the team and grind the draw out.

“Different situations demand you play differently. But given an ideal situation of a first innings scenario, I would not change my game at all.”

It is not that he cannot do it unless the situation demanded. Kohli played in innings atypical of him in the first Test against England in Rajkot to stay unbeaten on 49 in 98 balls and help India carve out a draw.

But then they say that one should not curb one’s attacking instincts. They also say, form is temporary, class is permanent.