The chase doctor

Superstar Virat Kohli is lifted by Yuvraj Singh to celebrate India's victory over South Africa in the second semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. PHOTO: FIROZ AHMED

Just when you think that he cannot yet again play the match defining innings and shepherd his side through a difficult chase and across the finish line, Virat Kohli proves you wrong. It is not hard to see that his every move is driven by a fierce will to win; when captain MS Dhoni patted the last ball of the 19th over -- with only one needed to overhaul South Africa's 172 -- back to the bowler, Kohli raised his arms quizzically as if he could not comprehend why anyone would waste an opportunity to win the match. That will to win, however, is grounded in an awareness and appreciation of cricket's cerebral requirements.
Kohli's achievement is all about the science of the chase. He has played the winning hand in chasing down 300-plus totals in ODIs with unprecedented regularity, and his blueprint for the chase is one that batsmen around the globe will do well to follow. His innings was a reminder that there is room for patience and calculation even in frenetic chases.
"I think cricket is played more in between the ears than with technique," he said. "I kept telling myself to stay on the wicket because I am good enough even when I was doing run-a-ball; till about 20 balls I didn't hit a boundary. So it's about staying patient and staying calm and not thinking about what would those in the dugout say or if I am playing too slowly. It's all about blocking those thoughts out which I think everybody learns with time. Once you start scoring runs you start believing in yourself more. That is something I try to do. I try to keep myself in that zone."
He credited the quick start openers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane provided for his success. "We were ten runs an over after the first three. If we were six runs an over I could have gone for my shots and probably could have got out. But I think the way Rohit and Ajinkya batted, initially it set the platform perfectly for us, put the pressure back on South Africa and allowed me to play myself in and stick to my plans," Kohli said.
Key to India's success was that they handled South Africa pace powerhouse Dale Steyn with aplomb. "It's important to put pressure on a world class bowler like Dale. That's why the key is to score off the other bowlers so he doesn't have too many runs to defend and if you take six-seven runs off someone like Dale who comes to pick wickets then it's more frustrating for the opposition. So it's all about calculating which bowler to hit, which bowler to block and the plan was not to give him wickets and we eventually ended up scoring around 11 runs an over to him," Kohli said.
For South Africa, it was yet another semifinal exit in a global event and captain Faf du Plessis was left to rue some indiscipline in bowling -- namely nine wides.
"Nine extra balls, it's not just the extra runs you give away but you also have to consider the runs they scored off those nine balls. So you're probably looking at a 15 to 20 run game swing just by bowling those nine extra balls. So if you are looking to win close games, if you are going to beat quality opposition like India you have to make sure that you really do well in those one percenters," said du Plessis.