Turn back the clock to April 15, 2011. Less than a fortnight after Sachin Tendulkar had ticked off, possibly, the most important box on his résumé, he regaled the Wankhede faithful with his maiden hundred in Twenty20 cricket. And, not for the first time, a Tendulkar special had ended in a losing cause.
Fast-forward to April 24, 2016. Virat Kohli, who is being compared to Tendulkar on a daily basis, began his Sunday by wishing his role model a happy 43rd on Twitter. Hours later, he celebrated the master’s birthday with an imperious century before his bowlers let him down.
The eerie similarities don’t end there.
Tendulkar’s hundred came against a new franchise (Kochi Tuskers Kerala). So did Kohli’s (Gujarat Lions).
Both teams donned kitschy orange outfits. Both had Brendon McCullum in the mix.
Kohli, whose returns lately are nothing but Bradman-esque, made a mockery of the Gujarat attack. On many occasions, he even rendered the fielders motionless.
Like when he smashed Pravin Tambe’s leg-spin for consecutive fours through the cover region.
Nobody moved. Or, for that matter, when he caressed left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati by rocking on to the back-foot and punching the ball through the same area.
Constricted by crampsFor the next few overs, though, Kohli played like a mere mortal. A round of cramps and a sprained ankle led to the slowdown. But, thanks to his supreme fitness, “the other muscles took over.” These were Kohli’s words.
And, when they actually did, he was on 50 — his forth in five outings — off 40 balls. With six overs to go, and the scoreboard reading an underwhelming 104 for two, Kohli shifted gears as quickly as someone manning a Bugatti. He then sliced a widish yorker from Dwayne Bravo for four before unleashing that deadly flick off a Praveen Kumar delivery to beat long-on.
When Bravo set out to bowl the final over, Kohli was on 85. Just like that, he raced away from 50 to 100 in a matter of 23 balls. Out came the helmet and that wide grin we are so used to seeing now. Not for the first time, it took us back to the Tendulkar era. The good thing, though, is that the Kohli aeon has only begun.
