IPL Flashback: When Even A Spilt Webbing Couldn't Stop King Kohli
The mind of a champion works in a way that ordinary mortals cannot fathom. A champion always looks at the challenge laid out in front of him and seeks to vanquish it. For a champion, no challenge is insurmountable, and they simply refuse to bow down before any situation that confronts them.
On the 18th of May 2016, a champion responding to the name of Virat Kohli dazzled and sparkled his way to an ethereal hundred against Kings XI Punjab. He had eight stitches in his left hand after splitting the webbing, but that did not stop the master batsman from sending the opposition into a tizzy at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and decided to bat first. Kohli got off the mark with a back foot punch for four off the first ball he faced. The ball was fractionally short, and Kohli beautifully rose on his toes and delectably punched the ball past cover.
Kohli then lofted Sandeep Sharma over his head for another boundary. Meanwhile, at the other end, Chris Gayle went berserk. The big Jamaican smashed two consecutive sixes off Kyle Abbott and followed it up with a boundary to finish the fourth over in style.
Kohli then moved to 16 with a glorious inside out six over cover which prompted Ravi Shastri in the commentary box to exclaim: "Kohli has just timed it for six.”
Kohli followed it up with another lofted boundary over cover and moved to 30. Cariappa then bowled a waist-high full toss, and Kohli just dispatched it into the crowd with ease.
The RCB skipper then followed it up with another six over long on. Cariappa was absolutely dumbfounded. He was up against a genius at work.
Kohli then advanced down the wicket and smashed Kyle Abbott over cover for a boundary. The batting dynamite reached his fifty off just 27 balls.
Kohli did not spare Cariappa that evening. He lofted him for a six over long off and followed it up with another six over deep mid-wicket.
At the end of the 11th over, the score was 147/1.
Mohit Sharma then bowled a full toss on middle stump, and Kohli just flicked him past mid-wicket with ridiculous ease.
The next boundary proved that it was indeed a master at work. Mohit Sharma bowled an overpitched delivery on off stump, Kohli just opened the face of the bat and split the gap between point and short third man with the precision of a surgeon.
A flick past mid-wicket took Kohli to his fourth hundred of the season - a feat that may never be repeated again.
The master batsman punched the air in delight and pointed to the stitches in his hand.
Kohli then continued to pile the misery on the bowlers. He lofted Sandeep Sharma for a six over mid-wicket and followed it up with a splendid straight drive down the ground.
Kohli’s master class drew to a close when he hit Sandeep Sharma straight down David Miller’s throat at long off.
As Kohli departed after illuminating the night sky in Bengaluru, Mpumelelo Mbwanga exclaimed in the commentary box: “What a Superhuman effort from one of the world’s best batsmen.”
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