At a time when ODI batting has been reduced to an extended T20, Virat Kohli has shown the essence of traditional batting without compromising the scoring rate.
The broadcaster showed an intriguing statistic while Virat Kohli was in the middle of another chase using his own method. Since 2000, Kohli has scored the most in singles (5870), followed by Kumar Sangakkara, with 5503 singles in ODIs. Since 2000, only 45 batters have an overall aggregate of 5870 runs, when Kohli scored as many through just piercing the gaps.
On Tuesday, when India lost Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma inside eight overs, Kohli again had his task cut out. He had to form another partnership, run hard between the wickets, and ensure the required rate didn’t surge beyond a point where pressure would creep in. But we knew the best part: he would do it again, and he did it again.
This was a typical Virat Kohli knock of old, not because he aced another chase but due to the sheer match awareness he depicted. A player can talk about handling the pressure all the time, but cometh the moment, many fluster and capitulate. Not Kohli, surely not after scoring more than 8000 runs in just chases.
During his latest innings of 84, Kohli scored only 20 runs via boundaries. In contrast, he ran 56 singles and four doubles to score 76.19% of runs while running. He played only 33.67% dot balls and maintained an adequate strike rate throughout his stay.
Leg spinners have troubled him lately, and Australia brought an additional bowler of the same type in Tanveer Sangha. However, one thing that’s clear in Kohli’s career is that he can have a thousand issues in his game but still find ways to rise on big occasions. That he handled the double leg-spin threat with a better technique and more flourishing range shouldn’t surprise.
He scored 23 runs in 24 balls off Adam Zampa and took 12 in nine deliveries against Tanveer Sangha to quell the menace easily. He used his ever-flexible wrists to put the balls in the gaps and also employed a sweep off Sangha to earn a boundary. He has done nothing too fancy, not over-attempting anything; just plain and simple batting.
This was a similar knock to the one he played against Pakistan a few weeks back. Then, among the 100 runs he scored, only 28 came via boundaries, and he ran 46 singles and 13 doubles in another marathon knock. At this point, he knows what to do irrespective of the situation he arrives in and takes his team through.
Among all the top three batters to face at least 50 deliveries this Champions Trophy 2025, Kohli has the lowest dot-ball frequency (41.37%). This is when he played in Dubai and batted mostly in the middle overs when the spinners’ role was more pronounced. On these surfaces, minimising dot balls is necessary when boundaries are not easy to come by.
It’s not that he can’t hit boundaries or doesn’t have the power game. Kohli is among the finest boundary-hitters in world cricket, especially after getting set. While he scored only 27.64% of runs via boundaries this Champions Trophy, the same number stood at 42.61% in the World Cup 2023, where the decks were slightly easy-going.
But these are not the conditions to flaunt boundary-hitting strengths. What eventually matters is Kohli is equally consistent in arduous conditions, and the scoring rate has been almost similar. He has changed his method, but everything else remains the same.
“I wasn’t feeling desperate, I was pretty happy knocking ones around and when as a batsman you start taking pride in taking singles into the gaps, that is when you know you are playing good cricket and you know you are in for a big partnership and settle the nerves down a little bit and head towards chasing the total down,” exclaimed Kohli after the semifinal win.
‘Pride in taking single’ – how many batters can say that? Or maybe how many batters think like that? Even if someone likes to do that, how many can do it as consistently as Kohli?
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Not too long ago, the writing seemed to be on the wall for Virat Kohli. He batted with a faulty technique in Sri Lanka last year and against England earlier this year. He was premeditating his shots and was uncertain with his foot movement. Then, his dismissal in the tournament’s opening game against Bangladesh followed a similar pattern against leg-spinners.
Many anticipated it to be a tough competition for Kohli on Dubai decks that are increasingly biased towards spinners. But he is Virat Kohli for a reason. Somehow, he has found a way again and did it in precarious situations.
It’s fitting that two of his best knocks in the competition came during the chase when India required it the most. In both matches, Kohli overcame spin threats by taking singles and doubles and batting with supreme control. According to ESPNcricinfo, he had 93% control against Pakistan and 86% against Australia.
His method of finding gaps and building the innings looks so simple that everyone wants to crack it. But if it were that simple, everyone would have done it. Just because he makes it look easy doesn’t mean it actually is.
At a time when ODI batting has been reduced to an extended version of T20s, Kohli has shown the essence of traditional batting without compromising the scoring rate. This Champions Trophy 2025 has come at the right time for world cricket to know what made Kohli an ODI maestro. Not that he needed to prove it, but a timely reminder is not too bad a thing either, you’d think.
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