This happens every time Kohli walks out to bat, which means, in ODIs, it’s usually the wicket of one of India’s openers. For years, Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni too evoked the same reaction from the crowd. The loud cheers at the fall of India’s second wicket in Tests would mean that Tendulkar was the next man in.
On Sunday though, something different transpired. When Rohit Sharma got out after providing his team a quick start scoring 26 off 29 balls, a hush descended upon the stadium. Usually quick to sprint on to the ground, Kohli waited for Rohit to leave the arena before marching in. And for a change, the loud noise erupted only after the silence, but Kohli ensured he made his feelings about this crowd behaviour was conveyed to the public.
“I’m aware of it, and honestly, I don’t feel good about it. I’ve seen the same thing happen with MS as well. It’s not a great feeling for the guy walking back. I understand the crowd’s excitement, but I try to focus on what I need to do and not think too much about it,” Kohli said after the match.
“I’m extremely grateful. It’s a blessing, honestly. To give so much happiness to so many people just by doing what you love – playing the sport you’ve loved since childhood – what more can I ask for? I’m living my dream, and seeing people smile makes me happy.”
Kohli missed out on his 54th ODI century by seven runs but with seven consecutive fifty-plus scores in his last seven List-A games, this is the best he has batted in a long time. The Kohli 2.0 is faster, scores quicker and with aggression. And today, as India needed to score 301, the master of the chase got busy doing what he does best. In 300-plus chases, Kohli has belted 1091 runs in 12 innings at an average of 122.2.
“The basic idea is I bat at number three, if the situation is tricky, I back myself to counterattack rather than just waiting around. Any ball can have your name on it, so there’s no point being passive. At the same time, you don’t play outrageous shots – you stick to your strengths. Today, when I walked in after Rohit got out, I felt if I pushed hard in the first 20 balls, we could put the opposition on the back foot. That ended up making the difference,” added Kohli.
Kohli begun 2026 the same way he ended 2025, with a rampaging knock, and although he couldn’t add to his tally of centuries, Kohli is proud of the way he’s batting.
“If I am being brutally honest, the way I’m playing right now, I’m not thinking about milestones at all. If we were batting first, I probably would’ve gone harder. But in a chase, with a total on the board, I had to play the situation. I felt like hitting more boundaries, but experience kicks in. The only thing on my mind was getting the team into a position where we could win comfortably,” he said.