Virat Kohli not governed by expectations, says Sunil Gavaskar

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar praised Virat Kohli’s temperament and adaptability despite his century going in vain in the ODI series decider against New Zealand, saying the star batter plays according to situations rather than being bound by expectations or image.

Hyderabad: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said that Virat Kohli, whose brilliant century in vain against New Zealand in the three-match ODI series decider (the Kiwis won the series 2-1) at Indore on Sunday night, that the master batter would not be tied down to an image and not governed by expectations.

“The thing about him is that he’s not tied down to an image. A lot of batters and bowlers are constrained by how they’re perceived, and they feel they must live up to that image. Virat isn’t like that. He’s tied to the job at hand, and that job is to score runs,” Gavaskar said on JioStar special programme ‘Amul CricketLive’. “Sometimes, that means starting watchfully and then opening up. Sometimes, it means attacking early and then spreading the field and picking up ones and twos. He’s not governed by expectations of how he should play,” Gavaskar said.

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“That temperament is the key. He doesn’t think, ‘I’m expected to hit a six.’ He plays according to the situation. He never gives up. Even till the end, he was trying. Perhaps, the gloves got a bit sweaty and the grip went slightly, which is why the bat face turned and he was caught near the boundary ropes,” the former India opener said.

“For youngsters, that’s the biggest lesson, don’t live up to an image. Play the situation, and you’ll be far more consistent than you ever imagined,” Gavaskar said.

“Once New Zealand got past 300, it was always going to be tough for India to chase. If the target had been around 290 or 300, it might have been possible,” he said.

“But when you lose someone in good form like KL Rahul, and you have Nitish Kumar Reddy, who hadn’t really done justice to his ability until this innings of 53 runs and then Harshit Rana, someone you are never quite sure what you are going to get, it becomes an uphill climb. That’s exactly what India found,” Gavaskar said.

“Unless Virat Kohli got substantial support, it was always going to be difficult, and he got very little of it. The real problem for India throughout the series has been the starts. As they say, well begun is half done. India never began well, and that’s one of the main reasons they weren’t able to chase these big scores,” he said.

On Harshit Rana’s lower-order contribution, Gavaskar said that it was a very good innings and that he batted exactly like a lower-order batter should. “Rana knew his job was to swing the bat. If he connected, great, if not, no worries. There were short balls he tried to slice but didn’t quite get hold of, and that didn’t frustrate him,” he said.

“Rana understood that if you pitch it up, he can hammer it, and if you bowl it halfway down where the ball is coming nicely, he can hit you for a six. That’s exactly what he did. What impressed me was that Harshit didn’t get hassled by earlier failures, especially with someone like Virat Kohli at the other end. How many people get the opportunity to bat with a Kohli or a Tendulkar? You want to savour every moment and stay there as long as you can. At the end of the over, when such great players talk to you, maybe say ‘keep going’ or ‘that was a good shot’, those are memories you carry for life,” Gavaskar explained.