India in Sri Lanka: The Oohs, The Drop and The Third Ball Six

One of the chartbusters in recent times is a song by Grammy Award Winner, Sam Smith. The song's name is apt for what Virat Kohli seemed to be thinking when he walked out to bat on day 1 of India's 2nd Test on the tour of Sri Lanka. At the time, India were 12 for 2, with talks of the Test finishing in 3 days resounding in the media room. The song's name is 'Stay with me'. It even won the 2015 Grammy for the Record of the Year and Song of the Year. (Rahul Hits Ton, India Recover to 319/6)

Kohli's body language oozed the words 'Stay with me KL Rahul'. He of course must have removed the 'Darling' that precedes the phrase in the actual song. At first, like in the case of many wooing scenarios, the wooed is reluctant. KL Rahul was no different. As Rahul lashed out to a ball, he should have avoided, he handed Sri Lanka's Jehan Mubarak a sitter, which Mubarak promptly dropped. KL Rahul 11 NOT OUT. It would make for great story telling if Virat walked up to Rahul at the end of the over and said 'Mubarak ho'. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. (India Sacrificed Rahane)

I find that one of the best ways to bring you closer to the ring side view of the action here in Colombo is to count back to the number of 'oohs' and 'aahs' at the end of the day's play. (India Do Not Have Bowlers Who Will Take Five Wickets)

The first of the oohs -

KL Rahul dropped on 11 by Jehan Mubarak. We've already learnt about this.

The second and probably the most crucial ooh -

Kohli walking the talk by walking out of his crease to send Rangana Herath's delivery out of the park. The crucial aspect here is that Virat risked dominating the bowler on the 3rd ball he faced off Sri Lanka's best spinner. Herath took seven wickets in the 2nd innings of the Galle Test, to bamboozle India and boomerang Sri Lanka towards a victory. The man called Cheeku had spoken about playing fearless cricket incessantly before the Test and the series. The six was a momentum shifting strike, the turning point, the counter punch that unsettled, Sri Lanka and let Mathews and company know, India's got fight. Kohli had singlehandedly and psychologically diffused Sri Lanka's most potent weapon, Herath. That incident laid the platform for a 164-run stand between Kohli and KL Rahul.

By the time Virat fell (Incidentally to Herath) he had scored 78, and the out-of-form Rohit Sharma who had been protected by his skipper, walked out to bat with 176 runs on the board. Pressure was there but it was a mole not a mountain. It gave him the perfect setting to come out and play a Test career defining innings. Oh and Virat Kohli by getting out on 78 missed the record equaling 5th Test century in a Captains first 5 Tests.

The third, fourth and fifth ooh -

Rohit Sharma, the Indian batsman, with the most number of questions asked about his form recently, simply because he has managed only 19 runs in his previous 3 innings, almost succumbed to the first ball he faced. Rangana Herath's luck had dried out. Rohit got lucky again on the 2nd ball he faced. Only this time it fell short of slip. The third ooh was when he looked set on 32. A sweep shot that produced a good shout for LBW but the umpire disagreed.

Enough of the oohs? Okay then let's go to the questions.

Which of the two is it? Is Virat trying to keep the opposition guessing by shuffling the batting order with either, sending Rahane ahead of Rohit, or sending Binny ahead of Saha?

Or is Virat a true believer in Rahane being better than Rohit and Binny being better than Rahane?

Or is it only form based? But then what's off about Saha's form.

The answer may simply lie in Virat's style of leadership. He likes to back a player he believes in to the hilt. Before the 1st Test he picked Rohit ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara and labelled him 'more of a match winner' than Pujara. Perhaps he doesn't want to make Stuart feel Little? But with the kind of shot he played to get out can the potential mountain of a man (in terms of possible cricketing prowess) avoid looking like a mole himself?

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