 "India's Virat Kohli celebrates his century during the first One Day International match between India and South Africa in Ranchi, India, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. AP")
Father Time, it is said, is undefeated. Several athletes have tried to hand it a loss. Several athletes have failed. Athletes, irrespective of how much they have dominated a sport, eventually fall away. Age takes its toll, the senses stop being as sharp as they once were and the output, ultimately, drops too.
In individual sports, that decision of when to say goodbye perhaps becomes easier. Well, maybe not easier, but it certainly has lesser stakeholders to tend to. If a tennis player or a badminton player feels they should continue, even if it comes at the cost of results, that burden will have to be borne only by themselves or maybe a partner.
Also Read | India vs South Africa 1st ODI live updates
In team sports, there is an entirely different dynamic attached. Is the said player still good enough? Is the inclusion of said player obstructing the pathway of someone promising and with many more years in front of them? Does the team, as a whole, look better without said player?
And it is amid that backdrop that Virat Kohli walked in at Ranchi. Yashasvi Jaiswal had sparkled for a bit, but was undone by a left-arm pacer yet again. Nandre Burger was the beneficiary on this instance, and that brought Kohli to the crease.
There is and probably never will be any denying his pedigree. He competes in a short list to be the greatest batter this format has ever seen. Some will even say, definitively, that he is the best ever. And they might not be wrong either.
But as players tick towards 40, questions start being asked. Not as much around their ability or over what they have historically done. But around if they can still replicate it. And it turns out Kohli can. Much to the delight of the thousands who had thronged the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi. And much to the satisfaction of those glued to their television sets (or any such screens) around the country and the world.
Kohli’s changed approach
A striking feature of Kohli’s innings was how quickly he was willing to take on the bowlers. He strode out to bat well inside the powerplay and at that point, he had the luxury of starting off sedately because of the start India had gotten.
Instead, Kohli decided to put them under even more pressure. There were the usual turf-screeching, carpet-hugging boundaries, but they were soon superseded by something more cavalier. Not only did Kohli take the aerial route, often going straight and over mid off, he also cleared the fence.
If that was not enough, Kohli also stepped out multiple times, indicating his intention to be proactive, and sensing that an inexperienced bowling attack – who did not help themselves with their lines and lengths – was there for the taking.
Those who have watched Kohli over the years know this is not what he usually does. Not because he cannot. But because his modus operandi is so well established and almost foolproof that a change in method has simply not been needed.
Gambhir effect?
But given how India have played white-ball cricket under Gautam Gambhir , where the focus has been to be fearless, push boundaries and attack until there is no other option left, a similar brief being laid out in ODIs is not unimaginable, even if the format, fundamentally, demands more patience. And here Kohli was, willing to champion the message coming from the team management.
And that is why this innings could be very important. Today and in the months to come. Because Kohli has shown an inclination to embrace it. And because Kohli has shown that he can also be successful with it. Even on a pitch that was not easy to start on and looked two-paced under the sun.
This, remember, was also a version of Kohli that had not played any competitive cricket for more than a month. And whose only competitive cricketing action since March has been the IPL and three ODIs in Australia - two of which yielded zero runs, and which saw him last a grand total of twelve balls. But if you watched Kohli bat in Ranchi, you would have never known. Such was his footwork. Such was his clarity.
And this shone through long before he actually manufactured boundaries. Every defensive shot had a purpose. There were no tentative prods and wafts outside the line. No falling across and playing around the front pad (largely) and no indecisiveness on whether to lunge forward or stay back. The balance was perfect too.
It was also quite revealing that Kohli hit seven sixes. He has hit more in only one ODI innings previously (against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram in January 2023). Again, it could just be a coincidence. But it could also be an illustration of what this team management is trying to preach, and of Kohli fully buying into it. Which is a good sign for every Indian fan. Although perhaps not as fruitful for those of other teams.
For Kohli, not age, but centuries are just a number
And when Kohli leapt into the air to celebrate his 52nd ODI century , it just felt different. That does seem counter-intuitive because this celebration has happened 51 times before in this format alone. But on this occasion, there was a release. Of a burden being lifted. Of doubters being silenced. Of a man who now knows this is the format he must prioritise on the international stage. And also, of a man relieved to know that the format he has often bent to his will, almost like the pied piper, is still adhering to his instructions and behaving just the way he wants it to.
A lot of the chatter before the ODI series was around how Kohli was returning to the fold, having featured only intermittently for India since a victorious run at the ICC Champions Trophy earlier in the year. But Sunday in Ranchi was all about how Kohli had never left. How his most prolific format had not left his side. And how he still looks at home in the habitat where his run-scoring ways have never really deserted him.
Which is further embodied by his numbers. Since the start of 2023, only five other batters have scored more than Kohli in the format. And in that period, among those who have scored more than 1000 runs (among Test-playing nations), no one averages better than Kohli (61.9).
Father Time, of course, remains undefeated. And it will stay that way, no matter what happens. But they also say that every great fighter has one last fight remaining in them. One final round where they can go toe-to-toe with adversity and the opposition, and throw punches like only they can. That final hurrah their fans will feel they deserve, and that one last redemption act people will argue their glittering career warrants.
When that last great fight could be for Kohli, well, who really knows. Maybe apart from the man himself. But it certainly is not now. Kohli on Sunday ensured the time for that has not come just yet.