It is the story of an 18-year-old teenager, who loved
cricket. An act, which stunned not just his teammates but also the opposition
team. It was year 2006 and Karnataka scored 446 in their first innings at Feroz
Shah Kotla ground.
It was a cold and difficult day for the Delhi Ranji team.
They lost 5 wickets chasing Karnataka’s massive first innings total. With half
of the side back in the pavilion on the 2nd day itself, it was an uphill task
for Delhi team to save the follow-on. The 18-year-old walked out and along with
wicketkeeper Puneet Bisht helped reach Delhi 103 at the end of the day’s play,
without losing another wicket.
This youngster stood solid and unbeaten at 40, but Delhi
still needed to go a long way with the last recognized pair in the middle.
But in the night his world turned upside down. His father, just 54-years-old,
passed away leaving him with an
awful choice – whether to cremate his father or to go and finish his innings
for Delhi.
The
news of his father dismisal had already travelled throughout the Delhi dressing
room. Chetanya Nanda-Captain of Delhi Team, was also instructed him to pad up. But, his teammates,
opposition and even the match officials were shocked to see him arriving in the
dressing room in full cricketing gear. He chose to go in and bat for the next
day to support his team.
He
played for 281 minutes and faced 238 balls. When he was declared out after
scoring a match-saving 90, just before lunch his team was clearly out of
trouble, with only 36 runs needed to avoid the follow-on.
At
around 12, he watched the replay of his dismissal in the dressing room once and
convinced that he was not out, shook his head, quietly removed his pads and
told his teammates he was now heading back.
Putting
aside his personal tragedy and saving his team from the jaws of defeat
certainly proves his mental strength. Only a person with remarkable passion and
love for what he is doing can go ahead and do something remarkable.
Virat Kohli is an Indian international cricketer who currently captains the India national team. A right-handed batsman, often regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world, Kohli is ranked as one
Virat Kohli is an Indian international cricketer who currently captains the India national team. A right-handed batsman, often regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world, Kohli is ranked as one
An innings like this really shows what stuff he's made of.
It's not easy to connect to the game and you tend to have an overflow of
emotions but he played a superb knock
- Venkatesh Prasad, Karnataka coach
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