Virat Kohli : That strange feeling called failure

That sport is a great leveller needs no reiteration as success and failure exist so perilously close to each other. Virat Kohli is not new to struggle but given the way his initial years at the top unfolded, the recent slide in his career graph may have brought home this truth for him.

Having been on an upswing since his second season (2009) in international cricket, failure possibly seemed like a distant reality to him.

He charmed cricketing pundits and cricket lovers alike with his authoritative style of batting and consistency. Be it Tests, ODIs, T20Is or IPLs, Kohli batted with confidence. There was not an iota of nervousness or pressure in his mind. He single-handedly won games.

Come 2014. A major tour of England. India eyed revenge for the drubbing they got in 2011. Expectations were high from the young team, especially, from the reliable Kohli.

However, what Indian cricket saw was unbelievable. Kohli failed and how. It was rare. He committed the same mistakes. He was found wanting against the moving deliveries and especially struggled against James Anderson. It was said, possibly as an exaggeration in jest, that if Kohli fails, India fails. However that is what happened in England. India lost the Test series 1-3, after starting off well.

Kohli was the most disappointing, collecting just 134 runs in 10 innings at an average of 13.40 without a single half-century in Tests. His bad patch followed in the one-dayers too but India had won the series. Fortunately, he finished the tour with a 66 in the lone T20 game, but India lost that game by three runs at Birmingham.

Former India captain and one of the most successful batsmen in England, Dilip Vengsarkar, was surprised with Kohli's failure.

"He committed some technical faults which he could not overcome. You need to adapt to those conditions, but his technique could not just adjust, he went on with the same flow again and again again," said Vengsarkar, who has scored three hundreds at Lord's in as many games.

"It was surprising for me since he is a high-class player someone who, I thought, won't repeat a mistake. He would adapt. But there is some technical flaws in it. And because he is a highly skilled player, I am surprised," he added.

So what goes through the mind of a player of Kohli's calibre who has seen success at the top level?

"In cricket you are as good as your last innings. If you get a big score and spend a lot of time in the middle, everything will fall into place. Its about the rhythm, once you get into it, your failures in the last few innings will be covered."

Vengsarkar said he believes Kohli has the ability to bounce back. "He is a strong character. He has done well at the international leverl. He is young, however, the thing is that he needs to get his act right against the moving ball," he said.

Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma gave an example of Kohli's strong character. "During the U-14 trials he was not picked in the Delhi side despite being considered the best player. He fought hard and got into the team. From that time he has been strong. He had said 'I have to show them that I am good' and he proved it to them. He has tremendous confidence in his abilities," said Sharma.

Who can forget Kohli's bravado at 18 when he scored a fighting 90 to save Delhi against Karnataka in a Ranji Trophy match and then going on to attend funeral of his father, who died the same morning.

"He has tremendous head on shoulders. He is a fighter and hungry for success willing to take challenges. The England tour was a learning process for him. Failure has taught him a lot of things. Such a phases has come for the first time for him at that level, hence, everybody is talking about it. He tried his best but unfortunately could not get the runs," Sharma said.

"I am sure he can come back."