Kohli’s evolution through Vettori’s glasses

Kohli’s evolution through Vettori’s glasses

Virat Kohli had already spent three seasons with Royal Challengers Bangalore when Daniel Vettori arrived from Delhi Daredevils before the start of season four of the Indian Premier League, in 2011. The New Zealand left-arm spinner marshalled the Bangalore franchise’s fortunes for two seasons before handing over the captaincy responsibilities to Kohli and taking over as the head coach.

The one-time Kiwi skipper has had a first-hand view of the growth of Kohli the batsman, the athlete and the captain/leader, and is clearly beyond impressed with what he has seen. In many ways, Kohli is the exact antithesis of what Vettori the cricketer was. The bespectacled Kiwi was a quiet, calm, unflappable presence on the cricket field, in direct contrast to India’s mercurial, aggressive, in-your-face captain. But Vettori identifies with the inner Kohli spark, his relentless quest to become the best in the business, and to lead by example in every way imaginable.

Ahead of Season 11 of the world’s most dynamic Twenty20 league, Vettori oversaw a brief conditioning and skills camp enveloping Indian representatives of the franchise currently not involved in international or domestic cricket. Having recovered from the ‘most intense auction I have been involved in’, Vettori took time off to speak to Wisden India on the phenomenon called Kohli, and his unmistakable influence on the RCB dressing-room and beyond.

“I am excited that he is having a rest at the moment!” Vettori began, clearly thrilled that his key man was finally listening to the demands, if not the complaints, of his body. After a high-intensity tour of South Africa, Kohli was rested from the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka which India won under Rohit Sharma on Sunday (March 18). “He can have a little bit of a break (from time to time), though I am not sure he knows how to rest.”

Vettori has travelled alongside Kohli in the latter’s journey of self-discovery, and his sustained quest for excellence. “I am lucky enough to have seen Virat at all stages of his career,” the man with 362 Test wickets, 305 One-Day International scalps and nearly 7000 international runs observed. “He was here when I was the captain of the (RCB) team, he was young and trying to be successful, trying to find his way. To develop himself into obviously a fantastic batsman, and he is also one of the fittest people in world cricket… Those two things have set an example for all of Indian cricket. Everyone tries to train in a similar manner, it has taken the Indian team forward dramatically and I think that has been a testament to him, how a leader should be showing the way. That has built into his leadership as a captain.

“The thing I have found with Virat in particular as a captain – and obviously there’s two sides to it… There is the passion – to do whatever he can to win on game day on the field. He is very keen to win on the field on game day. And then off the field, he is very receptive to information, he is very receptive to listening and wanting to learn. He wants to get better as well as having his own thoughts on everything that is going on in the game of cricket. None of us can really appreciate the magnitude of his role and the pressure that is on him and how exhausting some of the schedule is. But he manages it better than anyone I have ever seen.”

There is no let-up in Kohli’s intensity at any stage of the game or at any level, but that isn’t something that comes as a surprise to Vettori. “There is a passion for cricket,” he said, matter-of-factly, as if to say that there was no need for further explanation. Then, acknowledging the unasked follow-up, he continued, “If you sit down with Virat, you are talking cricket most of the time. He loves the game and that’s the thing that keeps the passion going. Also, his personal success and his team’s success. But if you have an innate love for the game, it gets you through everything. I think that’s the point where he is at. He obviously wants to be the best in the world, he’s got the talent to do it but he has backed it up with intensity and also the desire to keep improving. That comes from a genuine love of the game.”

Kohli has set the benchmark that others strive to emulate, but what works for him need not necessarily be the best for the rest. Admitting that there was no set template that would work for all individuals, Vettori allayed fears that in trying to emulate the example-setting captain, there was a danger that other players might sell themselves short.

“The main thing is that they are all trying it (the Kohli way), seeing if it works for them,” he pointed out. “That’s professional sports across the world, athletes at their absolute peak. I think the example is great and a lot of the guys are following that example. They just have to find what their own levels are but I don’t think you’d ever want to deny them trying to get to that level.”

Kohli and Jaffer: Two sides of the same fitness coin

Kohli and Jaffer: Two sides of the same fitness coin

A tumultuous week for cricket, in cricket. On the field, but off it too.

Contracts. Charges of domestic abuse and attempt to murder. Code of Conduct breaches, fines, suspensions, appeals. Suspect actions. The CoA’s crackdown on BCCI babudom, draconian or much-needed, depending on which side of the fence you are looking in from.

The emergence from the shadows of an unheralded teenaged offspinner from Chennai. The increasing affirmation of ability by a young but excitable paceman from South Africa. Australia Women’s unsaid statement that their Indian counterparts caught them on a bad day and a Harmanpreet Kaur-inspired heist at the World Cup. Nepal’s remarkable climb to One-Day International status.

And Wasim Jaffer’s inexorable march towards a third first-class triple-century, 21 seasons after he announced his arrival on the domestic scene with an unbeaten 314 in just his second game, for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy against Saurashtra.

There is a simplicity to Jaffer’s batting that is mind-boggling. A picture of poised composure at the batting crease, tall and upright and elegant, his willow-wielding is characterised by an economy of movement with more than commensurate returns. As he eases that long left foot to the pitch of the ball and caresses it through the covers, or gets his feet together to wrist the ball through mid-wicket, he cuts a pretty, pretty delectable picture. He is the consummate professional who has transferred his experience and expertise from his beloved Mumbai to his adopted home in Nagpur. His influence in Vidarbha’s surge to their maiden Ranji Trophy title this season has been acknowledged by all and sundry.

Jaffer goes about his business without fuss. On the field, he is almost anonymous unless the ball hovers aerially anywhere close to his massive mitts. There is little indication that this man is the top run-getter in Ranji history, that he has upwards of 18,000 first-class runs, that he played 31 Test matches over an eight-year stretch, or that he has two Test double-hundreds – one in the Caribbean, the other against Pakistan in November 2007 in what remains the penultimate Test between the two nations.

Jaffer is of a vintage increasingly rare in Indian cricket. He was born in the 1970s and, recently, slipped into his 41st year on this planet. That’s an age where people leading even sedentary lifestyles start to contemplate retirement from full-time occupations if they have the security of a reasonable bank-balance to fall back on. That’s an age where a majority of the cricketers slip into the ‘former’ category, targeting commentary gigs and media deals and perhaps a dabble in IPL backroom activities, as mentor or this fancy coach or that fashionable consultant or whatever title catches the imagination of the powers that be. Not for our Wasim, it would appear.

To hear him talk about passion and commitment, you might imagine a platitude to the clichés and a practiced, rehearsed rendition, but how could you be a cynic when, at 40, he can bat for 12 hours, negotiate 425 deliveries and ballet to 285 not out? Admittedly on an absolute shirt-front, but against an attack that is far from toothless. Siddarth Kaul, Navdeep Saini, Jayant Yadav and Shahbaz Nadeem make for a reasonably handy quartet. Throw R Ashwin, the quickest to 300 Test wickets, in the mix, and it is a bowling group that is capable of holding its own even on batting beauties. Not, it would seem however, if Jaffer is the batting beauty.

Apart from drive and determination, hunger and fire, and perhaps even the escape that cricket/batting provides, the key to Jaffer’s longevity lies in his fitness. He may not be obsessively in-your-face with multiple videos showing him pumping iron or eating up the miles on the treadmill, but unless he sticks to a fitness regimen that is both demanding and fruitful, he would have found it impossible to keep pace with lads biologically young enough to be his kids. It is unlikely that Jaffer is Olympics-fit, but he doesn’t need to be, does he? So long as he is cricket-fit, 285-not-out-and-counting-fit, who cares?

When it comes to fitness, though, there are no prizes for guessing who sets the benchmark in Indian cricket. There are some who only look fit. And then there is Virat Kohli, every bit as fit as he looks, near-fanatical in his routines, near-obsessed with his attention to detail.

The one constant in Kohli’s eye-popping journey up the cricketing charts has been his intensity. It was his calling card when he was a chubby, unapologetic teenager leading his country to the Under-19 World Cup. It is still his calling card when he has graduated from captain of boys to leader of men, setting himself up as the unmistakable face of new India, of young India, of aggressive India, of ignore-me-at-your-own-peril India.

Looking from the outer, it’s an intensity that is almost frightening. You sometimes fear that the fire in Kohli might end up consuming him. That he might become a victim of his own extraordinarily high standards. That, in giving his all each second, each minute, each hour and each session and each day, he might end up not having anything at all in the tank – detrimental to the cricket world and Indian cricket, yes, but more importantly, to Virat Kohli himself.

Clearly, those fears are unfounded. Virat Kohli seems to know exactly what he is doing. He is alive to the load he is putting on his body, the demands he is making of his mind, the limits he is pushing himself to. His recent remarks on workload management indicate that he is – perhaps finally – taking note of his body’s protestations at what he is putting it through. No matter what grade of cricket, no matter the quality of the opposition, no matter whether the stately pace of Test cricket or the hustle-and-bustle of the 20-over game, Kohli has left nothing behind in the changing-room.

His unparalleled fitness allows him to be nearly as fresh at the end of a frenetic 20-over innings as its start, as charged-up and looking for the extra run in the last over of a Test-match day as, say, the first hour of play. He hunts down balls in the infield and outfield like his very existence depends on it, setting an example that his less gifted teammates struggle to match. Throw in the cares/pressures/burdens of captaincy, and it is not hard to think ‘burnout’ in the same breath.

For Kohli to speak publicly about managing his cricketing commitments, on voluntarily finding gaps in the crowded calendar to recharge mentally and regroup physically, is perhaps the most encouraging development in recent times in Indian cricket. While his legion of fans would love to see him in relentless action day in and day out, it is humanly impossible even for Kohli to keep up this manic pace. Already, there are enough indications that he is choosing carefully; the advertisers might not be thrilled to see an Indian team without Kohli, but the Indian captain’s responsibility is not towards them, needless to say.

The Kohli template is unique in almost every way imaginable. It is unlikely that he will sit out every other series – or even every third one or the occasional IPL season – because that is not in his DNA, but as and when he does feel the need, he will do so, he has told the world. Not only has he earned that right, it is also in the long-term best interest of Indian cricket.

Performance in South Africa will boost confidence, says Bhuvneshwar

Performance in South Africa will boost confidence, says Bhuvneshwar

A seven-run victory over South Africa in the third Twenty20 International in Cape Town on Saturday (February 24) completed a fairly successful tour for India. They wrapped up the T20I series 2-1 to go with the One-Day International series victory. Prior to the limited-overs leg of the tour, India had lost a tightly contested three-Test series 2-1.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who enjoyed tremendous success in the tour across formats, said the performance in South Africa gave the team confidence ahead of more overseas assignments in England and then Australia.

“This tour has been brilliant, especially the Tests. Yes we lost the series but it was all close,” he said. “It could have been 3-0, 2-1 whatever. We’re very confident going to England or Australia. We know we’ve done well in South Africa and we can do well in other countries, but we have to prepare well.”

Things could have perhaps been different in the Test series too, had Bhuvneshwar, India’s top performer in the first Test, not been dropped for the second, which India ended up losing. The allrounder though, was content with his and the team’s performance.

“I don’t want to be too greedy but we’re lucky to win two trophies,” he said. “I really don’t want to go back to Test matches and why I didn’t play (second Test). It’s all about team effort. That match, there were bowlers for those conditions. We’re happy with two trophies. Hopefully next time we come here and we’ll win all.”

While Bhuvneshwar was Player of the Series for his seven wickets in three games, the Player of the Match on Saturday was Suresh Raina. The left-hander made a 27-ball 43 batting at No. 3 and then bagged the wicket of David Miller.

The performance completed a decently successful comeback for him. He had scored of 15 and 31 in the first two games.

Raina, whose career is in a very different stage compared to Bhuvneshwar’s, yet again stressed the importance of the opportunity to play, and was grateful to Virat Kohli for giving him the No. 3 spot.

“I’ve worked really hard for the last two years. Each and every session in the gym, on the field, I was just hoping when I was going to play for India again,” he said. “God has been really kind, thanks to my wife, kid, they’ve really made me believe I can go there and wear the Indian jersey again. That’s what Indian team does. A lot of sacrifices you do for your life and at the same time you enjoy your cricket. I’ve worked really hard on my game as well as my mental toughness.

“When Team India wins, everything looks so nice. The way Virat led the side in the last 2.5 months, it showed he cares each and every person. Batting at No. 3 is big in T20 and he gave me the license to just go after the bowlers. He showed faith in me, at the same time I enjoyed batting with Shikhar (Dhawan). He made me more comfortable, at the other end he was just telling me to look to enjoy and express. That’s what we did in the first six overs. T20 cricket is a lot about the first six overs. You can put a lot of bowlers in the backfoot easily if you have wickets in hand.”

Now after a decent run in the T20Is, and with India facing middle-order batting woes in white-ball cricket, Raina was confident he will be back in the mix for ODIs soon ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

“(This series was) very important for me. From here, we’re going to play in Sri Lanka and then IPL,” he explained. “We have a lot of matches coming up. I was part of the World Cup 2011 and in my first World Cup, I got the trophy in my house. That’s an unbelievable feeling. Coming back to the one-day squad, I’ve done well at the No. 5 spot. It’s just a matter of couple more games and I can ensure that I will be there very soon.”

More credit than debit, but India far from finished product

More credit than debit, but India far from finished product

India’s overwhelming dominance in the One-Day International series was fashioned primarily by two things – the top-order batting led by Virat Kohli, and the spin bowling of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. While Kohli was spectacular, and Shikhar Dhawan easily the second best batsman on either side, Rohit Sharma also made a vital century when needed most. But while the top-order guns were blazing, the middle order has left India with problems to ponder as they fine-tune preparations for the 2019 World Cup. On the other hand, the wrist-spin duo has added immeasurably to the team’s arsenal.

In taking stock of the win, the credit ledger far outweighs the debit side, but while the team must enjoy its great show to the hilt, the quiet backroom planning will have already started for what needs course-correction as India aim to get as close to perfect as possible for the World Cup.

In the middle order, Hardik Pandya batted at No. 5, with MS Dhoni coming in at No. 6. Kedar Jadhav was slated to come in at No. 7 in the first ODI. In the second, India won by nine wickets, so no one from Ajinkya Rahane downwards had to bat.

The same batting order was followed in the third ODI, with Jadhav getting to the middle this time. With the Maharashtra batsman injured after that and Shreyas Iyer playing the next three games, the order changed again. In the fourth ODI, it was Iyer, Dhoni, Pandya. In the fifth it was Iyer, Pandya, Dhoni. The sixth game was decided by Kohli’s brilliance in the chase once again, meaning no one below Rahane batted.

Before the start of the ODI series, the No. 4 spot was looked at as something of a problem child. However, once Kohli hinted strongly that Rahane would be given a run at that position, it seemed like there would be a settled batting order. The shuffling, instead, has shifted lower down.

R Sridhar, India’s fielding coach, explained that it was part of the team’s plan to build finishers, and that the state of the game too dictated who would come out at which spot.

“The whole endeavour is for two things,” said Sridhar. “One: look at the state of the game and see which player can be the best at that particular situation. And two: to give our other batsmen, apart from obviously MS, a chance to go there and take the responsibility and take the game till the end. We want more finishers, we want to train and groom more finishers. At the same time, we also want our Nos. 5, 6, 7 to be able to go in and learn the situation and adapt to it. That is why you see the rotation, but very soon I think we’ll be settling into fixed Nos. 5, 6, 7 as we get closer to the World Cup.”

Given the dynamics that T20 cricket has introduced, a flexible lower middle order can actually be eminently sound strategy. For example, if the third wicket falls in the 42nd over, you would want a Pandya to come out even if you have Iyer/Jadhav or Dhoni in the hut. With eight overs left, you want the man who can hit big the most consistently, and who will take the least time to get going. Despite his meagre returns in the ODI series, Pandya is that man for India.

What goes unsaid is the question of whether Dhoni is still the man for India. Behind the stumps, surely in the change-room, and in general, the aura and presence of Dhoni is inspiring. His constant stream of advice and tips, particularly to Chahal and Kuldeep, has become the stuff of internet virality. But with the bat, Dhoni has seemed a shadow of his former self.

He already has 9967 runs in the 50-over format, and when he’s done, he’ll probably be competing with Adam Gilchrist for a spot in the all-time XI for when Earth plays inter-Galactic series. But is he the man India can afford to take to the 2019 World Cup? That is a question for the team management to ponder with urgency because if a change has to be made, it must be soon so that the new ‘keeper has some matches under his belt before the big event.

Perhaps the niggling issues with the middle order is what Kohli was referring to when he said after the series win, “We certainly feel really good as a team. But there are always areas,” Kohli said. “Even when we win, we sit down, because no one has a perfect game throughout. Even as a batsman, you know that some balls you were not in good position so you want to correct that in the next game. As a team as well, you always make mistakes even when you win, but the thing is you capitalise on it and correct those mistakes very soon during the course of the games. We will definitely sit down as a team and figure out the areas that need improvement. I’m not denying that there are no areas that need strengthening.

“We don’t want to live in a dreamland where we just don’t accept our mistakes. We know as a team we need to improve on certain things. We’ve identified those things, it’s up to us to discuss and improve on those things going forward and solidifying those areas for ourselves. I don’t want to disclose it (the areas for improvement). I don’t want to speak about it publicly. It’s a very personal thing about the team and I don’t want to say it in a press conference.”

On the other hand, the emergence of a viable striking option in the middle overs has given India’s attack the teeth it lacked earlier. “I think even in my last stint, Virat and me have always discussed that we need wickets in the middle overs,” said Ravi Shastri, the head coach. “You know we’ve got to somehow be able to attack and find ways of breaking partnerships and not allowing the game to drift. So that was the idea. And then identifying the right kind of people to do the job. Luckily for us, Kuldeep and Chahal have complemented each other beautifully. They bring great variety – it’s great for the viewer, it’s great for the spectator to see that kind of variety when they come to watch a cricket match. Not just batting or fielding, but some classic spin bowling.”

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, despite middling returns in this series, and Jasprit Bumrah have proven to be among the most reliable pace-bowling pairs in white-ball cricket, and with the wrist-spin twins now in the mix, India have an attack that can be a threat at multiple stages of a match. It’s a luxury most teams don’t have. When combined with the way the top order of Dhawan, Rohit and Kohli have been on fire, you can understand why India are a formidable unit in the 50-overs game, notwithstanding the middle-order niggle.

And that they put it across South Africa so comprehensively despite the regular stutters after a couple of wickets had fallen shows just how deep the top three batted which minimised the effects of any wobble, and how well the bowlers combined to make even par totals seem herculean.

“We have learnt some good habits on this trip,” said Shastri. “This is a young side, they have got a lot of tough tours coming up and I think they have conducted themselves and handled themselves extremely well on this tour. One thing history tells me, I have been coming here since 1992, there is not one South African side in the world that anyone can say is a weak side. You just look at their bilateral record and they are one of the great sides in bilateral cricket. I have followed this game for a long time. I have been a broadcaster as well and covered a lot of South Africa games and I know how they play. So I would like my boys to enjoy every bit of this series win. Whatever the scoreline is, they must enjoy because it doesn’t happen every day.”

India are already a frighteningly good one-day side, particularly when Kohli and the top order get going, which is almost in every match. If Pandya’s development as a bowler continues, they will have most bases covered with bowling too. As Kohli said, it’s not possible to be perfect throughout, but if they get their middle order sorted, India will come closer to it than any other side in world cricket.

The Hitman cometh, even if belatedly

The Hitman cometh, even if belatedly

Off the first 15 balls Rohit Sharma faced at St George’s Park on Tuesday (February 13), he had only one run. You would think a batsman walking into this match with only 40 runs in four preceding One-Day Internationals, and 118 runs in eight innings on tour overall, would start to feel the pressure. In his next three balls, Rohit languidly cut Morne Morkel to the point fence, and then stepped down the track to Kagiso Rabada to make one of the signature ‘clean Rohit connections’, the one where you know the ball will be sailing over the boundary – any boundary in the world – as soon as it has left his bat.

When it comes to Rohit, the pressure might be felt more by those watching and over-thinking on his behalf. For the man himself, what has happened in the past is in the past. After that, it’s the next match, the next over, the next ball. And in the fifth ODI of the series against South Africa, Rohit broke a mini-hoodoo with 115 off 126 balls, starring in India’s 274 for 7 and eventual 73-run win. It put India up 4-1 and sealed a historic first-ever bilateral triumph against South Africa away.

At the end of it all, the centurion could share a joke, or several, with the assembled press corps. “I got out in three [four] matches only mere bhai, how can you say form is bad after three matches? You guys put people in good form after one match, and if somebody doesn’t have three good matches, you say he is in bad form,” laughed Rohit.

When it was clarified that the questioner meant Rohit had broken a hoodoo specific to South Africa – a Test average of 15.37 stretching back to 2013-14 and an ODI average of 11.45 since 2007 – Rohit countered with a smile again. “Nahin yaar, 2013 was different. I had just turned into an opener from a middle-order batsman. The way I am batting now, it has evolved a lot. Whatever happened before 2013 and in 2013, forget about that. Ask me about what has happened since then,” he said, drawing a fresh round of laughter. “I admit the first four matches weren’t great but that happens. It happens with everybody. But I was in a good frame of mind, I was batting well in the nets, there was no pattern to my dismissals. That happens in every cricketer’s career. I knew I had to stay in a good frame of mind. And we won the series after today’s knock, so there is nothing better than that for me.”

That Rohit hadn’t looked out of sorts is a fact. And though he fell thrice to Rabada in the four ODIs (and thrice in the Tests too), he was right in there being no pattern to his dismissals. In Durban, he was looking good but top-edged an intended pull off Morkel with the ball getting slightly big on him. In Centurion, he had already hit a six and two fours when he hooked Rabada to fine-leg. In Cape Town, he faced down a terrific first over from Rabada in which the last ball took his inside edge even as he tried to withdraw his bat. And in Johannesburg, he jammed one back for Rabada to time a dive to perfection.

What Rohit knew was that he wasn’t far away from a big score. How he knew it is perhaps part confidence, part athletic sixth sense, part conviction that if he was feeling good and batting well in practice, it had to translate into runs on the field sooner than later.

“In our dressing room, we are always talking how we are batting and how we are playing the ball. Scores sometimes don’t reflect that at times, sometimes they do, but that doesn’t mean that suddenly you have become a bad player,” he reflected. “Because you have achieved so much, scored so many runs, two or three bad innings doesn’t change that. This is not just for me, but for all batsmen in the team, because such a situation does come that you are trying your hardest but things don’t come off. So at that point it is important that you relax and take a step back and think about what you need to do in the next game.

“Every day is a new day and what you have done in the past will really not matter. It is the same thing I am thinking right now. My hundred has gone now and the next game I play, the hundred I scored isn’t going to matter much. So it is important to stay in the present. Our staff and experienced players are always talking about this and what our mindset is. Sometimes you see a player and think his mindset is not good, but you have to follow your routines and if you trust your routines, you won’t have to wait too long for results. Like I did, and I knew that a big score is coming and I just have to be in that zone, not get completely bogged down and start worrying about my batting.”

Rohit may want to get in his zone, but all things Rohit are newsworthy. He made headlines when he was picked for the first two Tests above Ajinkya Rahane. He made news when he was subsequently dropped. He regularly grabs space for his limited-overs feats, and equally when he doesn’t score.

“Every day is a new day and what you have done in the past will really not matter. It is the same thing I am thinking right now. My hundred has gone now and the next game I play, the hundred I scored isn’t going to matter much. So it is important to stay in the present. Our staff and experienced players are always talking about this and what our mindset is. Sometimes you see a player and think his mindset is not good, but you have to follow your routines and if you trust your routines, you won’t have to wait too long for results. Like I did, and I knew that a big score is coming and I just have to be in that zone, not get completely bogged down and start worrying about my batting.”

“I feel privileged if people are talking about me,” Rohit cheekily said, inducing a fresh round of titters. “People want to talk about me, they can talk about me!

“But to be honest, what goes in my head is completely opposite,” he added. “I am here to do something special for the team. Whenever I get an opportunity to play, I always see it as a chance to do something special for my country today. As a youngster you worry about all those things, but I have passed that age now to keep worrying about what’s going on outside the field, or what people want to talk, or what people don’t want to talk. As long as you are playing the sport, good things and bad things will happen. When you are doing good things, people will talk. When you are doing bad things, people will still talk. I have managed that really well in the past few years because when you are having a good time, you should be aware that there will be a bad time as well. That’s how sportsmen’s careers go. I am pretty much in that space right now.”

The space and bubble that he creates is what perhaps allows Rohit to shrug off past failures more quickly than others could. It might have also helped him during his century, over the course of which both Virat Kohli and Rahane were run out. It wasn’t entirely Rohit’s fault in either dismissal, but he could have shown more alacrity in refusing risky singles earlier too. But with both men run out, the responsibility on Rohit to make a big score increased. When he did reach his hundred, the celebrations were subdued.

With the match and series won, there was nothing subdued in Rohit’s explanation. “Celebration… yaar two guys got run out before me earlier, so I couldn’t celebrate,” he said, leading a fresh round of laughter. “I was not in a mood to celebrate. But I knew that if we could get 270-280, it will be difficult for them because we knew the pitch is very slow and anything could happen as our wrist-spinners are bowling very well and they have troubled their batsmen a lot.

“Celebration, it depends on what kind of mood you are in. Two of our main batsmen got run out, so I wanted to carry on and the celebration was not in my mind at all. I just wanted to keep batting as long as possible and get the team to a decent target. We realised at one point after 20-25 overs that it’s not a 300 track because it was getting slower and slower and shot-making wasn’t easy. I knew when I was batting at 100 that I have to carry on but unfortunately got out at the wrong time. At the end I still felt 270-odd was a par score, definitely not a winning score but a par score.”

The celebrations that were held back in reserve were given full expression once the series was sealed. The vice-captain’s bonhomie post-match was evidence enough of that.