T20 World Cup: King Kohli is getting better with age

When India won the Under-19 World Cup under Virat Kohli in 2008, one could see glimpses of the aggressive Kohli 15 years ago but none would have imagined he would reach such great heights in all forms of cricket.

He was fast-tracked into the Indian team in the same year and the rest is history, as they say. Kohli, who turned 34 on Saturday, has more than 24,000 international runs with 71 hundreds and an average of 50 across formats in a span of 14 years, is a remarkable record in itself.

What makes Kohli special is the hunger to win in every format he plays and to compete fiercely against all opposition in every condition. Everyone remembers the Adelaide Test in 2014 where he captained India for the first time against the famous Aussie side. India were set a target of 364 on a wearing pitch by Michael Clarke and Kohli being Kohli, went for it, scoring his second hundred of the match, rather than going for a draw when wickets were falling at the other end.

India did lose that match but the signs were ominous. Here was a captain who played to win and was not afraid of losing. India won a record 40 Tests in the 68 matches Kohli captained and he guided India to two series wins in Australia, when no other Indian captain had won a series Down Under.

What was more remarkable was, under him, India developed world class fast bowlers who could take 20 wickets regularly and make India win matches in foreign countries. His infectious energy on the field rubbed on all the players where there was never a dull moment when he captained India, whether he was batting or fielding and marshalling his bowlers.

His ODI record is impeccable too where he has 43 hundreds and 26 have come while chasing, which is why he is called the chase master. And more often than not, India win games when Kohli is at the crease chasing any target. Same goes for his T20 career where he has a whopping average of 53 in 113 matches at a strike rate of 138, which is simply difficult to match by any player because of the unpredictability of the shortest format.

Kohli has been able to create such unbelievable records in all formats because of the fitness he maintains which is the key to his success. And even at the age of 34, he is able to convert ones into twos and twos into threes which is as important as hitting the big sixes and boundaries.

And he lit up this year's T20 World Cup with an breathtaking chase against Pakistan at Melbourne in front of more than 90,000 fans. His form has been so good that he has scored 220 runs in just four games and has been dismissed only once and has anchored India's innings in three games of this World Cup.

His game awareness is far ahead of the rest and his mind works faster than a computer which brings out the best in not just him but also his teammates.

This is not the T20 World Cup in Australia, it has been King Kohli’s World Cup and India are just three games away from having their hands on it.

Time will tell if India get there or not but the King has stamped his complete authority on this World Cup.

Anis Sajan is the vice-chairman of the Danube Group

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