You’ve either seen it happen, been part of the process or watched it on a television programme. The fish, caught at the end of a hook, thrashing at first, attempting to pull away, only to tire and be reeled in, the amateur fisherman at the end of the rod finally winning the battle, displaying his trophy before passing the protein on to the chef. This is an age-old tussle, between the fisherman with his rod, and the hapless creature in the pond, river or sea. But examine this again. While the finish ends up being eaten, it did not get caught because it was prey.
Rather, the fish in the water saw something wiggly on the surface, or something shiny. The fish was the predator, going in for the kill, only to realise too late what was actually going on. Batting in Test match cricket is a bit like that.
India vs South Africa: Full Coverage | Photos | Schedule | Results
Bowlers are often classed as hunters, the ones looking to pick off batsmen. But, in truth, they merely present the ball, ask the question, sometimes in creative and disguised ways, but it is batsmen who are looking to pounce and make a meal of what is on offer. To that end, batsmen such as Virat Kohli are apex predators.
They are always looking to attack what is on offer. They genuinely believe that every bowler who comes up and sends down a ball is part of a sumptuous feast, where they simply tuck in. But this is when the going is good. It has been a long time — by Kohli’s high standards — that the going has been anywhere close to good.
Instead, he has perhaps been too eager, going at the first thing that came his way, taking the bait on offer, however dimly disguised, and paying the ultimate price. Not on the first day of the decisive final Test against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town.
Here the big fish was playing the waiting game.
It is not as though Kohli did not want to score runs. He just wanted to make runs without putting his wicket on the line or his team in danger. To that end, Kohli left balls alone outside the off stump with a discipline that would have made India’s head coach proud. This was not waving the white flag or taking a backward step. Rather this was a bold move. This was Kohli showing that he would suppress his ego before the opposition had a chance to play on it.
By leaving 50% of the deliveries he faced on the way to the second slowest Test half-century of his career, Kohli forced South Africa’s bowlers to come to him. The fisherman who cast his line and waited patiently was now running out of time. He had to flick the line over repeatedly, and when he did so, desperation caught up. And Kohli cashed in. He drove through cover, either side of the fielder with only the deftest adjustment of how the bat came down, punched past mid off, worked the ball between mid-on and midwicket and kept reminding the bowlers that the runs were not coming at a fast clip out of choice, not because they were making it impossible.
ALSO READ | 3rd Test, IND vs SA, Day 1 Talking Points: Virat Kohli And Kagiso Rabada Put on a Show in Cape Town
In the evergreen 79 that Kohli made, he faced 201 balls and had not scored off 167 balls. Don’t for a second imagine that he could not have made more of an effort to force the pace. But, if he had, that might have exposed him to risk, and the team to a collapse, when South Africa were bowling exceptionally well.
Kagiso Rabada, playing his 50th Test, has the same kind of pride that drives Kohli. He is desperate, not merely to take wickets, but to do so in a manner that stamps his unquestionable authority on a game. Like Kohli, Rabada is fit, focussed, well prepared and unused to failure. Which is perhaps why the reminder from his captain, on the eve of the last Test match, stung. Rabada responded as champions do, and even finally got Kohli, but that was when the Indian captain was running out of partners, not patience or energy or ideas.
Bowled out for 223 after closing to bat, India will know they have let themselves down. Most of all, on a day when the captain finally fired, threatening to end a two-year drought without an international century, those around him let things slip. It’s over to the bowlers now to keep the game alive, but, at least, it can be safely said, that Kohli’s lack of runs in the last two years was a statistical inevitably, and not a sign of terminal decline.
Get all the IPL news and Cricket Score here
.