ADELAIDE: The secret of Virat Kohli's twin centuries on captaincy debut isn't to be found on a cricket pitch. He has been saying it for a long, since before he left India for this tour: He is not afraid of failure anymore.
Normally that's a cliche. In Kohli's case it has been cathartic.
"I am a little bit hurt that we could not cross the line when it looked pretty bright for us. But at no point did we back off and we are not going to back off. Unless you believe in something there is no chance of achieving something," he said.
The Kohli of the past would have looked upon such statements as indication that he had lost the edge. The Kohli who led in Adelaide appeared at peace with the fact that India had lost under his leadership, playing around his newfound philosophy of all or nothing.
Somewhere deep down it will rankle. Kohli has been at pains to emphasize that he is different from MS Dhoni. Not for him the safety-first Test cricket tactics of a wily captain all too aware of the limitations of his arsenal.
Kohli wants to out-gamble the gambler. He also wants to out-bat the opposition. He knows he is better than most others with the bat, not among contemporaries but in the history of the game.
He also knows all this counts for little if you lose.
"I have tried to see what works in my life, the kind of character I have, personality I have. I don't make a big deal out of performances or getting out. I'm getting to terms with how life goes on every single day," he said after India's defeat.
It was an admission that earlier he would lose sleep over his public image. Kohli the celebrity has come to terms with Kohli the batsman, and that can only be good news for Indian cricket.
The new Kohli is still driven, but not losing sleep over it. It's a healthy new approach which has brought out the best in him. There's a funny aspect too. It was on display on the fourth day when he was ready to offer David Warner the choicest verbals but was suddenly reminded he was the captain and had to act responsibly.
There are indications the training sessions with Sachin Tendulkar after being brutally exposed by James Anderson in England have worked. "Coming to terms with myself, or (being) at peace with myself is more of a self-realization."
As sportsmen at the top level will tell you, the "mental aspect" is everything. It's what separates a Kohli from a Rohit Sharma.
From the moment Kohli stepped out to bat on Saturday, it was apparent he was not ready to yield ground to Nathan Lyon, India's tormenter in chief. He played with soft hands, he looked to score, he was well-organized at the crease. He came up with an innings that will be remembered for a long time.
But Kohli made one mistake. He tried to force his own unique batting philosophies on to the team: be positive, take the fight to the opposition, do not appear defensive, unleash your strokeplay, do not worry about the conditions.
If there were 11 Kohlis in the team, India would have won or drawn this Test. His next learning curve will come when Kohli learns to assign roles to less talented teammates.
© timesofindia
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