The inevitable happened. But till the time it happened, it did not seem inevitable.
Questions had started cropping up, even in his most ardent fans - will Kohli ever score a century again?
The wait became excruciatingly painful with each passing match. We kept playing matches - Vs SA,England, NZ, Australia, SL, Pakistan - but the magical figure seemed to be getting further and further away until it suddenly happened.
1019 days is an agonisingly long period. In this fast paced world, almost generational in its duration. Many sports careers start and end in three years.
Some might complain that it was in an inconsequential match, some that it was against a tired Afghan attack.
For die hard fans, these detractors don’t matter. What matters is that King Kohli is back - the player who mesmerised Indians for a decade showed imperious, impetuous form to dominate a match once again.
That Kohli did not lose his self belief and the hunger to be the best version of himself is commendable. Also commendable is the faith the selectors, the coach and the captain reposed in him.
Kohli’s break - more a mental one must have been cathartic and detoxifying. He looked as if he cleansed himself of putrefying weaknesses.
For, weak he had become. By bulking up and building muscle, he compromised on his core strengths - agility and timing.
He was a master of finding the gaps and hitting 4s, but he chose muscle power to cart the ball over the fence. He chose a high risk 6 to a 4.
When a fast bowler bowls, a batsman has less than half a second to react. Just imagine a fight between the muscle memory that screams timing and a newly built armoury that shouts power. It does not just work out.
This is what happened to Kohli. He tried to do what others - who were far lesser competent, successful than him- were doing. In the bargain, he became like them - ordinary.
That could possibly be the biggest lesson for all sportsmen and us in general - someone else’s strength might be your weakness and its pursuit might jeopardise your strength.
Irfan Pathan learnt it late- by making him a pinch hitter - Greg Chappel made us lose some one who could have been our own sultan of swing.
