A crown of thorns

Cricket has been evolving in phases, over time. The bat vs ball era put both on an equal footing, we had as many batting legends as bowlers and fielders were mere adjuncts. As the competitive format kicked in, fielding became the forte of winners. In shorter formats today, the bowler is expected to contain runs and fielders largely accounting for wickets. Even with batsmen ruling the pitch, a Kohli is a rare talent. Sehwag, Yuvraj, et al, have brilliance and flair, but short on singular and merciless focus. M.S. Dhoni batted as well but was constrained by captaincy. Will Kohli be able to keep his batting at this fabulous peak, depends on his ability to wear the skipper’s cap in a skirmish with a determined team. RCB proved to be as much.

R. Narayanan

Ghaziabad

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