The Reverse Sweep

Virat Kohli points the way forward for India

There was some rare good news for the bedraggled Indian cricket team today. One of their batsmen finally managed to reach three figures in what has turned out to be the most one-sided Test series since India last played a Test series outside the subcontinent.

The even better news was that the identity of the century maker wasn’t one of their veterans rolling back the years for a final hurrah (or even a long awaited 100th international hundred). Nor was it one of the misfiring opening batsmen whose individual run without a Test hundred now extends to 38 innings for Gautam Gambhir and 25 for Virender Sehwag.

Today saw the maiden Test hundred for Virat Kohli and it was a good one too even if it probably won’t avert yet another heavy defeat for his side.

We’ve been quite impressed with Kohli for some time and his success could (and should) herald a radical new selection policy for India. One that should see long-service awards and pats on the back for VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and dare I say it the Little Master himself and their replacement in the side with Kohli's fellow new breeders namely Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara.

As it has with Kohli it may take some time for the new boys to assimilate to Test cricket, but let’s be frank they cannot do much worse than the incumbents have fared in England and Australia. As an example prior to the Adelaide Test, Gambhir averaged 23.00 in the England and Australia series, Laxman 20.28 and Sehwag 16.09.

It’s time for Indian cricket to move on and Kohli’s hundred may well have pointed the way.

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Virat Kohli's footballer tendencies

Let’s make one thing clear, we believe that Virat Kohli is an immensely talented batsman here at The Reverse Sweep.

In our view Kohli is at the head of a new generation of Indian batsmen including Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane that promises the handover of power from the old guard of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman may be much smoother than once feared.

Neverthless, Kohli’s reaction to his dismissal in the third ODI against West Indies in Ahmedabad yesterday was unacceptable. Standing his ground and glaring at the umpire was bad enough, but his mouthing of obscenities and general childish demeanour was more befitting of the type of behaviour seen at Premier League football grounds.

As someone who has grown up with the filthy lucre of the IPL and in the full glare of a cricket obsessed country and media, Kohli lives the luxurious and closeted existence enjoyed by the likes of Wayne Rooney and John Terry.

And just as the behaviour of the England rugby squad has plunged the depths as the rewards and endorsements have gone in the other direction – mirroring their football counterparts, so is the danger for the cricketers of the IPL generation.

Kohli has said on many occasions how his game has benefitted from watching Tendulkar at close quarters and listening to his wise counsel, so he would do well to also heed the example the Little Master sets in terms of his modesty off the pitch and respect for the rich traditions of cricket.

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Rohit Sharma: The Artist formerly known as Nohit

But for naivety and the compusure of last wicket pair Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, West Indies would have accomplished in one game what England couldn't manage in five by beating the World Champions in their own backyard.

The catalyst for India's triumph was the increasingly impressive Rohit Sharma, who skilfully anchored what had appeared to be a forlorn chase with 72 before he fell with just 11 runs required.

For a while it seemed that Sharma, famously dubbed Nohit by his detractors, was going to be a talent unfulfilled. A lack of consistency, a seeming love of the celebrity afforded by the IPL and perhaps a touch too much arrogance all contributed to the man who Shane Warne described as having "all the talent in the world" to be left on the fringes of the Indian side.

But a pair of hundreds in an obscure one-day tournament in Zimbabwe in 2010 hinted that there was some substance to go with the style and his first-class average of 63 tells you that there is talent in abundance. 

Although he missed out on the World Cup squad, his curve has continued to go upwards since thanks to a strong performance in the Caribbean in June and perhaps a defining knock yesterday.

He is in the Test squad for the tour to Australia and along with Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane forms a quartet of immensely promising young Indian batsmen. 

It seems that the man Bored Cricket once amusingly called The Artist formerly known as Nohit, has a chance of becoming a Prince amongst batsmen.

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Is it really Jonathan Trott's fault?

Forget the death of Colonel Gaddafi, the main topic of conversation on Twitter last night was Jonathan Trott.

Remarkably many were blaming him for England's defeat in Mohali despite Trott scoring 98 not out and leading England to 298 - their first decent batting effort of the series.

The main criticism seems to be that Trott can only bat in one gear. Well his unbeaten 98 came off 116 balls at a more than useful strike rate of 84.48, which is hardly shabby and his partnership with Samit Patel, which saw 103 runs added in 11.5 overs should have given England enough runs to win. Ajinkya Rahane's 91 came off 104 balls at a similar strike rate to Trott's of 87.5 and he was given the man of the match award.

Is it Trott's fault that Craig Kieswetter fluffed running out Mahendra Singh Dhoni? Or is it Trott's fault that Jade Dernbach bowled like a drain and conceded a wide and a no-ball off the penultimate over? And indeed is it Trott's fault that England's bowlers were generally poor and served up a tasty diet for the Indian batsmen?

Trott averages 53 in his one-day career at a decent enough strike rate of 78.58. It's time that people got off his back and admit that this time it simply wasn't Trott's fault.

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