You have either seen it happen, been a part of the process or seen it in a television program. The fish, caught on the end of a hook, beating at first, attempting to pull, only to tire and reel, at the end of the rod; the amateur fisherman eventually won the fight, before passing the protein to his Trophy displayed. To the Maharaja This is an age-old quarrel between a fisherman and a helpless creature in a pond, river or sea. But check it again. While it ended up being eaten, it was not caught because it was prey.
Rather, the fish in the water noticed something sticky, or something shiny, on the surface. The fish was predatory, going in for the kill, only to realize too late what was really going on. Batting in Test match cricket is similar.
India vs South Africa: full coverage , photos , the schedule , result
Bowlers are often classified as hunters, who want to pick up batsmen. But, in reality, they only offer the ball, ask questions, sometimes in creative and disguised ways, but it is the batsmen who want to pounce and eat the food on offer. To that end, batsmen like Virat Kohli are top hunters.
They always want to attack what is on offer. They truly believe that every bowler who comes up and sends a ball is part of a sumptuous feast where they are just tucked in. But this is only when the trend is good. It’s been a long time by Kohli’s high standards that anywhere close to being good.
Instead, he’s probably been too eager, going over the first thing that came to him, taking the bait on offer, though dimly disguised, and paying the ultimate price. Not on the first day of the decisive final Test against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town.
Here the big fish was playing the waiting game.
It’s not that Kohli didn’t want to score runs. He just wanted to score runs without putting his wicket or his team in danger. To that end, Kohli left the balls outside the off-stump alone with a discipline that made India’s head coach proud. This was not to wave the white flag or back down. Rather it was a bold move. It was Kohli showing that he would suppress his ego before the opposition got a chance to play on it.
Kohli forced the South African bowlers to come to him by dropping 50% of deliveries on the way to the second slowest Test half-century of his career. The fisherman who cast his line and waited patiently, time was running out. He had to turn the line over and over again, and when he did, desperation took hold. And Kohli cashed in. He drove through cover, with only the worst adjustment of the bat coming down either side of the fielder, punched at mid-off, worked the ball between mid-on and midwicket, and kept on reminding bowlers that runs were the choice. Not because they were making it impossible.
In the all-time 79 that Kohli scored, he faced 201 balls and did not score a single run in 167 balls. Don’t imagine for a moment that he couldn’t have tried more to force the pace. But, if he had, it could have put him at risk, and for the team’s downfall, when South Africa were bowling exceptionally well.
Playing his 50th Test, Kagiso Rabada has the same kind of pride that inspires Kohli. He is desperate not only to take wickets, but to do it in a way that stamps his unquestionable authority on the game. Like Kohli, Rabada is fit, focused, well prepared and addicted to failure. Perhaps this is the reason why his captain’s reminder was staggered on the eve of the last Test match. Rabada responded as champions do, and eventually got Kohli too, but that was when the Indian captain didn’t have the patience or the energy or the ideas.
India will know they have let themselves down after being bowled out for 223 after batting. Most of all, on the day when the captain finally fired, threatening to end a two-year drought without an international century, those around him let things slip. Now the bowlers have to keep the game alive, but, at least, it can be safely said that Kohli’s lack of runs in the last two years was essentially a statistic, not a sign of terminal decline.
get all IPL news and cricket score Here
,