Virat Kohli needs rage. He needs aggression. He eats anger to produce danger. He indeed is dangerous when anger hits him. That’s his fuel. People rely on different things to produce their best version. For Kohli, it’s rage, anger and the constant feel of wanting to be the best in the world.
Everybody has anger, but only a few use them the right way, to fuel them.
The first few deliveries Kohli faced that day had the laziest version of him. Outside-edge, inside-edge, mistiming. That was not Kohli. Even during his sleep, he would produce a better version. Kohli wanted to disown. Disown that version, disown him. He needed the rage. To go forward. Kohli looked at the scoreboard. He knew he had to finish the match, to stay. He knew he had to go back to the basics, to survive.
He was shouting at himself. He ranted. He roared. Was he trying to wake up his inner beast?
Did West Indies players need the same too?
They knowingly or unknowingly sledged him, walked towards him with a mouth full of words. Even umpire had a part to play in helping Kohli in his mission. There he was. The beast coming out of Kohli.
On top of all these, Kohli had Kesrick Williams running to bowl. Kohli likes to dominate. He likes to win the battle. He had an unfinished battle with Kesrick and Boom. There he was. It was the cherry on the cake of rage for Kohli and he took it with open hands. He gave it back. The notebook.
We do have many players who go through different emotions while batting and this is Kohli. This is his kingdom and his cup of tea.
He is one of the best learners of the game. While the rage was coming out, there is his brain working hard to find that tiny point to escape the block. It was analysing every single situation and making sure that Kohli gets back to his basics, to his timing rather than going behind the slogs. He does it every single day, in and out but once the match is over, you will see a different person coming out from Kohli. The inner beast gets what it needs, goes to sleep with happiness and you see the Kohli, the leader, the king coming out as the gentleman who goes a long way to help his players out, party with his opponents because, hey, cricket is just a game at the end of the day.
