New Delhi: Bowl him outside the off stump he will let it go, try to bounce him out he will roll his wrists over to pull it down the ground, bowl him full he will unleash a copy-book front foot drive. Yes, we are talking about Virat Kohli, the one who can do no wrong. Not only as a batsman but as captain also Kohli has gobbled up records as if they were his daily meal. The Indian skipper’s performance on the cricket field has given rise to a question – is there anything the man cannot do? Certainly he can do everything as a batsman or as captain. But there is one aspect of the game that Kohli’s is still unsure of but never shies away from taking it head on – the Decision Review System (DRS).
Day 2 of the India-Bangladesh one-off Test at Hyderabad saw Kohli fighting an interesting three-round battle with DRS. Certainly much more interesting than the ongoing one sided Test match.
Round 1
It was the fourth ball of the 117th over of the Indian innings, the Bangladeshi players went up in a huge appeal for an LBW and to their delight the umpire put his finger up – they had Kohli. But only for a brief period as Saha at the non striker’s end had a quick chat with Kohli and the Indian captain opted for DRS. The replays conveyed that the ball was missing the stumps, so the decision was overturned.
Kohli- 1, DRS- O
Round 2
Kohli sliced Taijul Islam over cover to become the fist batsman in the history of the game to slam four double centuries in as many series. The celebration was a subdued one in comparison to the magnitude of his feat. But an even more interesting incident was to follow. Just an over later that same bowler trapped Virat Kohli in front and again it was ruled in Bangladesh’s favour. Like an action replay of the previous incident Saha went up to Kohli for a possible use of DRS but Kohli had other ideas. He decided to walk back for 204. Had Kohli opted for the review he would have survived and perhaps had a shot at his first ever 300 as the ball had hit him outside the line of the off stump.
Kohli -1, DRS- 1.
"During the second time, I was about to ask Virat to check but he was hundred percent convinced that it was out,” said Saha at the post match press conference.
Round 3
India had declared at a mammoth 687 for six and it was Bangladesh’s turn to get through an hour without much damage. They were doing a fine job until the 12th over. Umesh Yadav was brought into the attack and bowled an unplayable delivery to Soumya Sarkar that missed the stumps by a whisker. There was no convincing appeal from either the bowler or the keeper Saha. It was Kohli who seemed convinced that Sarkar had nicked it. Kohli made the ‘T’ signal and there it was, Sarkar had got a feather. The decision was overturned and India got their first break through.
Kohli- 2, DRS- 1
On aggregate, Kohli had won the bout but his uncertainty about DRS only proved that Virat Kohli is not a superhuman after all. He is a man of flesh and bone, who has been coming up with superhuman performances on the field.