’s unbeaten 139 in Thiruvananthapuram was not only another chase finished. It was the latest look at a batter who says playing fewer formats has given him something rarer than runs: calm when the chance finally arrives.
India hunted 296 and beat West Indies by eight wickets in the first ODI, with 50 balls unused. made 110. Kohli finished 139 not out off 88 balls, his 55th ODI hundred, and became only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to reach 15,000 ODI runs, the fastest to get there. He did not stay with the numbers.
“My focus has never been on these milestones. It’s been about focusing on situations, doing the job for the team,” he said. “Obviously I feel very grateful and blessed for having played so long.”
now plays only 50-over cricket for India. Asked whether cutting formats has brought more clarity, the 37-year-old pointed straight at the World Cup a year away.
“We’re a year away from the World Cup. I know what my goal is, and yeah, it’s pretty clear for me that whatever games we get, I just need to keep working on different aspects of the game, keep myself physically fit, challenge myself to be out there, run from boundary to boundary in the last 15 overs if I can, field in the inner ring, show intensity.”
If those boxes keep getting ticked, he thinks there is still time left in this format.
“If I keep ticking all those boxes, as I said, I’ve got some time left to play in this format as well, and yeah, I just want to enjoy every day. So when I get an opportunity, I feel happy rather than feeling anxiety or pressure to make the most of it. And I just want to express myself and play my game.”
That is the one-format life in one line. The innings is no longer a scramble to prove he still belongs. It is a chance meets with happiness, then tries to play on his own terms.
“As I said, I promised myself I’m going to play positively because I can. So I’m going to continue to play like that, but not be reckless. There’s a fine line which, as a professional, as an experienced player, I should have the ability to execute in this way without playing reckless shots and get the team through.”
The lighter head, he insists, does not come first. The game, he said, is in the mind, but only if the body holds.
“I think to follow a free mind, you need a fit body.” After that, he said he can visualise the game and play it the way he did on Sunday. There are no shortcuts on the field either. “If you have to run four doubles in an over when you’re batting at 150, you have to do it. There are no excuses.”
On his headspace now, said he is “just very grateful and happy.” Looking back to where he started as a child, he said, keeps him grounded when fame and attention pile up.
“We need to look back once and look where we came from. We tend to forget that with the hustle of the world, and the attention and the fame, it’s easy to forget where we came from.”
“I enjoy each and every minute that I’m out there playing for India,” he added, because he knows he might never have played for India at all. “So I have nothing but gratitude in my heart, and, as I said, I just want to put my head down, keep working hard, put a smile on my face, and hopefully make other people smile too.”
