The Rising Talent
Virat Kohli, the rising talent in Indian cricket,
was born on November 5, 1988 in Delhi. He is a
right-hand batsman, who usually bats in the lower middle order and is also a right
arm medium pace bowler.
Virat first came into the limelight when he played for Delhi in a
Ranji trophy match against Karnataka on the day of his father's death
(December 19, 2006). His team needed him at a crucial moment when he was much more
needed at home. But he said that he wanted to bat and scored 90 runs. It indeed
was a tribute to a father from a young son who put everything behind his duty.
As the captain of the Under 19 Cricket Team of India,
Virat led it to a memorable U-19 World Cup triumph at Malaysia in 2008. He started
the U-19 World Cup campaign in style with a century against West Indies. Coming
in at his favourite number four position, Virat scored 235 runs in six matches at
an impressive average of 47. During the tournament, his team strategy, including
his bowling changes proved beneficial to the side and helped India win the World
Cup, bringing him special credit.
In 2008, Virat participated in the Emerging Players Tournament held in Australia
and scored a brilliant century. Owing to his excellent performance in Australia,
he was selected in the One Day International team for India’s tour to Sri Lanka
in 2008 (Idea Cup). By scoring 54 runs in the fourth match, he helped India win
the series. This was India's first one day series win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.
Virat played in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy
after Yuvraj Singh
was injured. He got a chance to play in the 4th ODI against Sri Lanka. He scored
his first ODI century, milking singles with Gautam Gambhir. They shared a 224 run partnership for the
third wicket as India won by seven wickets to seal the series 3–1. Gautham Gambhir
gave his man of the match award to Virat for his performance in the series. Sachin Tendulkar
was rested for the tri-nations tournament in Bangladesh in January 2010, so Virat
played in each of India's five matches. After making nine in the opening loss to
Sri Lanka, he top scored with 91 to help secure a win after India collapsed early
in their run chase against Bangladesh on 7 January 2010. He was unbeaten on 71 to
help win the match for India with a bonus point after they chased down their target
quickly. The next day, he scored his second ODI century, against Bangladesh, bringing
up the mark with the winning runs. He was much praised for his performances during
the tournament and became only the third Indian to score 2 ODI centuries before
their 22nd birthday, following in the footsteps of Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina.
Virat made his Twenty20 (T20) debut against Himachal
Pradesh on April 3, 2007 and played five T20 matches, scoring a total of
179 runs with the top score of 76 before the 2008 Indian Premier League (IPL).
At the inaugural season, Virat was signed by the Bangalore Royal Challengers team
and he played 13 IPL matches scoring 165 runs at a strike rate of 105.09.
This 22 year old wonder boy has proved that in different conditions, against varied
bowling attacks, he can adapt quickly and succeed. There is definitely lot more
in the store for this sparkling kid with an insatiable hunger for success in cricket.
