‘Why did I eat Chole Bhature?’ When Virat Kohli was stuck with guilt, and worked-out harder | Cricket-world-cup News

Rajkumar Sharma remembers calling Virat Kohli exactly a year ago. “Tune poore desh ki diwali bana di. You’ve given the best Diwali gift to India,” he’d tell him. A year later, he may have had a similar conversation as Virat Kohli led another successful Indian run chase at another World Cup. It’s been a habit the two have continued since Kohli’s formative years in cricket. “No matter what, I don’t miss a single ball when he is batting. We talk about his innings, his shots, which ones he played well,” Sharma tells The Indian Express.
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A year ago in Melbourne, the twin sixes off Haris Rauf’s 19th over were the highlight of the call. A flat-batted-standstill-six down the ground immediately followed one of his signature swat-flick shots over square leg. Two ginormous hits that Sharma believes only his ward could’ve played at that juncture in the game with 28 required to win off eight balls against.

“Shots of the century. I think nobody else could’ve played those. This is what Virat is capable of doing. I would rate them as one of the best shots ever played which I have seen.” Speaking to Sharma over a call from Australia after the game, his long time mentee only had a phrase to offer though, “Pata nahi sir, kaise hua ye! (I don’t know sir, how I played them)”
India’s Virat Kohli plays a shot during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match between India and New Zealand in Dharamshala. (AP)
His childhood coach however puts it down to years and years of a particular habit. Something he has imbibed for all at the West Delhi Cricket Academy – where Kohli trained – over the years.
“If someone is struggling with a particular shot, we make them bat that shot the whole day. This was the same during Virat’s time as well. If you’re playing a straight drive, be it short ball, length or full, you have to play the same shot,” Sharma describes.
On Sunday, he displayed another stroke that may be courtesy of the aforementioned habit. A flat pull off Trent Boult over cow corner picking a back of a length delivery angled in from round the wicket. No footwork, just a quick stretch of the midriff and using the angle of the ball to his advantage. Almost as if he had done it over and over again, living Canadian scribe Malcolm Gladwell’s famous words, “It takes ten thousand hours to truly master anything.”
Or it may even be down to the mahoul (atmosphere) on the given day. Something that Kohli is known to thrive under. “It is the momentum, the atmosphere, the occasion, being pumped up to do well. Like the match against Pakan, he wanted to do well. He’s the star batter. And he knows what he’s capable of. So he took the challenge.”
India’s Virat Kohli acknowledges the crowd after being out on 95 during the ICC Men’s World Cup ODI cricket match between India and New Zealand, at HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.(PTI Photo)
The words used Indian skipper Rohit Sharma were dinctly similar after Kohli starred in the chase the other night. “He has done this for us so many times. He backed himself to do the job.”
It’s a phrase that Sharma reckons comes with a flip side. “Since he’s set such a high benchmark, everytime he goes, we expect a hundred.” Just like they were in Dharamsala and from a record number of screens all over India. A record equalling 49th ODI ton which didn’t come as Kohli was caught at 95. But the time he was, he’d teed up the fireworks in Dharamsala. Or as his childhood coach would say, “Tune poore desh ki diwali bana di.”
Childhood foody to ODI perfection
There are some key ingredients that make up a typical Virat Kohli knock in the 50-overs format. Perhaps the most noticeable is his ability to notch up the majority of his runs via singles and doubles in the middle overs. Especially when the game is stuck in tricky situations as it was the other night with New Zealand having almost dug their way through the Indian batting. Most Read
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In what was another knock where Kohli extracted majority of his runs (51 off 95) in running between the wickets.
Sharma recalls the drastic change a Delhi food savant has had to go through over the years to stay in shape for his game to thrive. “When he used to come to my house, he always used to bring kebabs, biryani and if he was not bringing it, he’d tell me, “Sir mai aa rha hu. Mere liye wo chicken roll aur mutton roll mangwa lena na.” He was just mad for non veg food.”
Cut to 2023 when his favorite breakfast of Chole Bhature almost leads to guilt. “Earlier this year, when he came to Delhi…he had them and then he worked out so much as he had almost felt guilty. ‘Why did I eat them?’ So he sweated it out.”