From Adelaide to Bridgetown, the King stood tall even in his final goodbye to cricket’s fastest lane

Back in 2010 on 12th June, a youngster took the yard for the first time in the Indian threads in cricket’s fastest lane. With the eclipsing presence of Sachin Tendulkar still doing the stride, it was just another seed of tomorrow with lots of promise. But then Indian cricket has seen countless youngsters arriving with a lot of promise only to fade away in the near future.

As destiny would have it, the first nine matches that he played yielded middling results. But then the experts conceded the fact that this youngster was different. He had the shots and the signs of what can turn him into one for the future. Now whether he would be a legend or not, that still remained debatable.

The first true sign of a second coming of another unparalleled legend in the royal blue threads arrived in Pallekele where India took on Sri Lanka in a one-off contest. Despite Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane falling early, Virat Kohli steadied the ship first before he brought out the big guns, blasters and bazookas to leave the Lankan lions rattled.

In the following T20I that he was a part of, India would eventually go onto lose the contest by a solitary run and this time it was against the Kiwis. However, Virat Kohli, the youngster who exuded promise and confidence, held his nerve, and showed ice-cool temperament to hammer a 41-ball-70 which made him the leading act in the Indian chase.

Making his footfall in the 2012 T20 World Cup, Kohli also completed a hattrick of half-centuries where he scored 50 off 39 against Afghanistan as India secured another emphatic win.

Since then it was only an ascent to the stars. Formidable foes like Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa knew there was a new kid on the block and the kid meant business.

When Sachin Tendulkar stepped down, India needed another beacon of hope. There were plenty of options but only one who was willing to step into the massive boots which came with unreserved love and a galaxy riddled with hate and criticism.

Every time Kohli failed, more than criticism, there used to be a boatload of daggers being pointed at his back. The feeling was that of an iron throne. A bare minimum adjustment and he bled. Then arrived the 2014 T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli, who had already established himself as a fearless warrior, blowing kisses to Mitchell Johnson and conquering the world alike, had a lion’s share of responsibility on his shoulders.

Kohli was no mug to a herculean task load, however, because at the end of the day, he already had the captaincy of RCB by then. He started the biennial extravaganza with an unbeaten 36 as India upstaged Pakistan in the opener. Up next in the long line of fallen foes, West Indies bore the brunt of another of his scintillating fifties.

The symphony of brilliance continued as he rocked Bangladesh and Australia in almost similar tones. But then he reserved the best for the best. It was in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup where India was up against South Africa. The Proteas managed to pile up 172/4. India did get off to a decent start but would soon lose momentum as two of their openers, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma were back in the dugout.

With the Steyn Gun being at his peak back then, India was in some serious firing line and they needed a shield made from Hephaestus himself. Instead, they got an Achilles whose heels were made of Vibranium and he wielded a bat like Zeus waging his thunderbolt, coming all guns blazing at Dale Steyn, Virat Kohli.

Blitzing his way through, Kohli clobbered a 44-ball-72 that saw India win the match with five balls and six wickets to spare. A day later, Kohli once again took the centerstage but this time the surface had a bit more venom than he anticipated. He would score another 58-ball-77 which did provide the platform to India only for that to be squandered away later.

Despite the heartbreaks, the constant wax and wanes of cricket’s fastest lane, Kohli waged on a war against anyone and everyone. He conquered Adelaide, Melbourne, Eden Gardens, Sydney, Providence, Auckland and whatever other names you want to throw at him. At the end of it all, he conquered Bridgetown, lifting his first T20 World Cup, a befitting farewell some would say.

At the end of it all, Virat Kohli totted up 4188 runs at a strike rate of 137.04. He smashed 38 half-centuries and one century, numbers that established him in one of the rarest Pantheons which possibly had two names before him, one of Sachin Tendulkar and the other being Sir Donald Bradman. From the titles of Chasemaster to the King, Kohli ruled it all. Thank you Virat Kohli for your relentless service to the nation in cricket’s shortest format.