Kolkata: The pumping of the fist in the air, the exuberance on the field and essaying the role of a perfect leader who goes all out to motivate his boys: That’s Virat Kohli for you! But aren’t these features remind you of a former Indian cricket captain, Sourav Chandidas Ganguly?
Yes, Kohli as the man in charge of the team in Bengaluru today took us back to that special day, March 15, 2001 at the Eden Gardens, when Ganguly’s men snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the same opponents, the Australians to level the series. Just 8 days before the completion of 16 years of that win, Kohli’s men have edged past the Men from Down Under.
A humiliating loss in the previous Test at the Wankhede in Mumbai had hit the morale of Team India in the 2001 Test series, but Ganguly was in no mood to give up. His grit and determination paved way for a memorable turnaround that redefined Indian cricket.
Fast forward to 2017, and a beleaguered Indian side was fighting to save its reputation after conceding a 335-run-defeat to Steve Smith’s men in the first Test at Pune. Kohli, a captain short of form, never looked short of confidence on the field and it is this positive attitude that had a strong influence on his teammates and Team India beat Australia in the second Test to level the series to stay alive.
Rewind to 2001, and in both Mumbai and Kolkata, the Indian skipper had failed to deliver with the bat. Back in 2001, it was VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid’s record-breaking partnership which set the platform for an Indian win in Kolkata, and in 2017, it was the contribution of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane that did the job for India on a tricky pitch. While in 2001 Ganguly turned to Harbhjan Singh to deliver with the ball, it was the offie, Ravichandran Ashwin who stepped up for Kohli to pick up 6 Australian wickets in the last innings of the game in Bengaluru.
Ganguly or ‘Dada’ as he is also called, was never the one to mince his words. Undeviating, assertive and not the one to shy out of a duel, Ganguly was a breath of fresh air to the Indian team. For long, the Indian contingent took the idea of cricket being a gentleman’s game way too seriously. It was in the 2001 series that India finally gave the Australian side a taste of its own medicine.
And like Ganguly, Kohli doesn’t hesitate to air his views. Kohli seemed to reach his tipping point when the Australian captain, Smith sought the dressing room’s opinion, before opting for the Decision Review System (DRS) on the fourth day of the Bengaluru Test. When he was caught trapped in front of the wickets in Australia’s second innings, Smith looked in the direction of the dressing room before umpire Nigel Llong interfered. Kohli lost his cool and he did not seem to conceal his feelings at the post-match press conference. “We have been inconsistent with the DRS but we take our decisions on the field, we don’t ask for confirmation from the dressing room,” he said.
Kohli was in no mood to relent and claimed that this was not the first time the Australians had sought dressing room instructions on DRS calls. “I can only say, if it happens more than twice, it’s not brain fade,” he said referring to Smith’s comment stating, “it was a brain fade.”
Well, it’s the same-old aggression that we witnessed years ago. The waiving of the India jersey at the Lord’s courtesy Ganguly, is some days away as Kohli like The Prince of Calcutta, wears his heart up his sleeves.
What a similarity between The Prince of Delhi and The Prince of Calcutta. In between we had the silent aggression of Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and MS Dhoni who skippered India before Kohli took over, but Kohli does make us nostalgic because his attitude both on and off the field reminds us of Ganguly!