Virat Kohli's 'Mount 28k' Climb: Bonding with Mom, Disapproving Fan Culture

During a chase of 301 runs, Virat once again showcased immense intent and was chanceless in his approach at the same time, scoring his knock of 93 in 91 balls with eight fours and a six with a strike rate of above 102. While the Vadodara crowd could not get to see the number 85th ton, they got to see some records broken nonetheless as Virat cracked his seventh successive 50-plus score in 50-over format, while representing both India and Delhi.

A kid with a hand-made fansign saying he would give up food for a week if Virat did not score a century was left stranded the very next ball after his sign was displayed on live TV, but during the post-match presentation, Virat delivered some food for thought, some wisdom in the way he has always done: Brutally honest and unapologetic.

Getting his 45th 'Player of the Match' in ODIs (3rd most) and 71st across all formats (second next to Sachin Tendulkar's 76), Virat, who has received these individual honours like candies, took some time out on speaking on what has been the point of his cricket over the years after all: making fans happy and most importantly his mother proud. While the tough scheduling as a cricketer and businessman keeps him away from family, including his mother for plenty of months (not years anymore since he is a single-format player), these 'POTM' trophies have become a crucial object of bonding between the son-mother duo, symbolising the love, gratitude and a sense of satisfaction built over two decades of hard grind as a cricketer.

"I send my awards to my mum back at home in Gurugaon, she is proud of them," said Virat with a face beaming with gratitude and pride in equal parts.

Reflecting on his journey over the years, which has now left him 6,000-runs-odd away from toppling his idol Sachin Tendulkar, Virat recalled all the hard work, self-belief that got him here and nothing excites him seeing fans smiling as he bats.

"If I look back at my whole journey then it is nothing short of a dream come true for me. I have always known my abilities, but I also knew I had to work extremely hard to get where I am today. God has blessed me with far more than I could ever ask for, I look back at my journey with a lot of grace and gratitude, and I feel really proud of it," he said.

"I am extremely grateful. It's a blessing, honestly. To give so much happiness to so many people just by doing what you love - playing the sport you have loved since childhood - what more can I ask for? I am living my dream, and seeing people smile makes me happy," he added.

However, Virat die-hards might have to think before they let out a loud roar on the dismissal of one of their openers, Rohit Sharma or Shubman Gill. Having heard the same overwhelming cheers when a Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter would get out and led to bringing MS Dhoni out on the crease, the veteran expressed his disapproval for the "fandom" "stan" culture running wild in Indian cricket, especially among the fans of Dhoni, Rohit, Virat and his own and could soon trickle down to Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

"It is all different timings happens at different games, I am aware of it, and honestly, I do not feel good about it. I have seen the same thing happen with MS as well. Its not a great feeling for the guy walking back. I understand the crowd's excitement, but I try to focus on what I need to do and not think too much about it. I am extremely grateful," he added.

His much hyped return to ODIs during the tour of Australia fell flat as he scored two back-to-back ducks but in next seven innings, he has scored a fifty-plus score in all innings, three of them being centuries. His bat has bled 677 runs in last seven innings at an average of 135.40. His hunger for runs has hit the 'peak Kohli' levels, but the milestones are not clearly a priority. What matters is going hard when opportunity presents and play the situation in a chanceless manner, with the latter being his core strength. The intent of the older days is back at its fullest, giving him the freedom to go hard.

But the ODI template is embedded in his head, causing him to dial down on his aggression if needed. While Virat started off aggressively, he toned it down to the needs of the pitch and chase after bringing up his 50 in 44 balls with a 113 SR.

"If I am being brutally honest, the way I am playing right now, I am not thinking about milestones at all. If we were batting first, I probably would have gone harder. But in a chase, with a total on the board, I had to play the situation. I felt like hitting more boundaries, but experience kicks in. The only thing on my mind was getting the team into a position where we could win comfortably," he said

"The basic idea is I bat at number three, if the situation is tricky, I back myself to counterattack rather than just waiting around. Any ball can have your name on it, so there is no point being passive. At the same time, you do not play outrageous shots - you stick to your strengths. Today, when I walked in after Rohit got out, I felt if I pushed hard in the first 20 balls, we could put the opposition on the back foot. That ended up making the difference," he added.

Now in 557 matches, Virat has made 28,068 runs at an average of 52.66, with 84 centuries in 146 centuries. While there are at max barely 50 more appearances left, its not the times to lament the missed centuries, but to enjoy this last run of ODIs dying breed of GOATs.

- ANI