MUMBAI: With the past of Indian cricket watching on from the stands and in the form of a life-size statue, India's present and future came together to help the team post a total of 357/8 against Sri Lanka on Thursday. Under hot conditions, Virat Kohli, who threatened to equal Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI 100s, and Shubman Gill put on 189 runs for the second wicket in well over run-a-ball.
By the time the latter was dismissed for 92, batting had become easy. But the pair, two supreme artists in this form of the game, had to become artisans for a period of time to survive. At 1/4 after 0.2 balls (Rohit Sharma had just lost his off stump), Kohli wasn't going to have it his way. On a surface with some early movement, he had to survive some scares, especially against the returning Dushmantha Chameera. With the oddball stopping, the 34-year-old was also struggling for some timing. But when your luck has turned, the stars are in alignment. Gill too had played out a maiden as the Sri Lankan pacers had found a good spot to extract some seam movement on an ice-cream-melting-in-a-matter-of-seconds kind of afternoon.
One of the weather apps said 'real feel 38*c', a few rungs above the 36*c Mumbai was recording at 3.00 PM on Thursday. To make matters worse, the prevalent Air Quality Index (AQI) was pegged at an 'unhealthy' by the same weather app. Sri Lanka, though, decided they wanted to field first. Just how brutal were the conditions? Kohli, a good barometer for fitness, was slightly out of breath after running a two. The support staff were also frequently running drinks to ensure both batters were hydrated. At one point in the first phase of the innings, Ishan Kishan had brought out a big umbrella and a couple of chairs to ensure both Kohli and Gill had momentary respite while fluids on board.
Ironically, once both batters were set, those were the only times when the bowlers were also not feeling the heat from the broad blades of Kohli and Gill. On song, they are both very different but aesthetically pleasing to watch. While Kohli's 88 is a continuation of the kind of year he has had, Gill's 92 in as many balls would have pleased the management. He has had a few cameos to his credit but that big score was lacking. Considering he's just coming back after a bout of dengue, lasting more than two hours in these conditions shows that his body has recovered.
If Gill's 92 would have brought a smile to the dressing room, Shreyas Iyer's 56-ball 82 would have released the pressure valve that was building on the No. 4. There was pressure because some outside noise suggested that given Mohammed Shami's form, Iyer's place was under threat if and when Hardik Pandya returned from injury. Like Gill, Iyer too has looked good without a big contribution. This, though, is what he's all about.
While Sri Lanka's pacers opted to not test him out against the short ball (a well-documented shortcoming), the local boy feasted on anything that was pitched up to him. It also kind of showed why even as he was recovering from injury, the management didn't waver from him as their preferred option at No. 4. Crucially, he's an ultra-aggressive option against spin in the middle-overs (this is why he frequently tries to take on the short ball even if it's not a favourable match-up). Overall, both Gill and Shreyas getting runs will bode well for future challenges, beginning with the match against South Africa in Kolkata. Consider this. Before the game against England at Lucknow, Rohit and Kohli had made almost 57 per cent of all the runs the team had made sans extras. While it showed that the team's two elder statesmen were in form, it had left the middle-order with little to do. Was it going to be a problem going forward?
KL Rahul was asked this very question ahead of the game at Lucknow. "No, I don't think it is a concern," the keeper had said. "It is a very good thing when your senior players are making runs and are in form. That is what you expect from players like Rohit and Virat. I know that big scores have not been scored, hundreds have not been scored apart from Virat and Rohit. But that is the challenge for the other guys. Team is winning so we're not really worried but whenever anyone gets a chance, I'm sure they will put their hands up."
Over the last two games at Lucknow and Mumbai, it transpired. The others in the line-up have contributed a shade over 65% of all the runs.
That can only be a good thing.
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