The Virat Kohli scripted domination of Sri Lanka: Three key takeaways

We should no longer be surprised by Virat Kohli This win makes it 13 centuries in successful chases. The record is 14, currently owned by Sachin Tendulkar. It isn’t going to stand for much longer. Kohli came in after both openers fell early and while he was at the crease, an India victory was always a possibility. Even when a clump of wickets fell towards the end, you felt all Kohli needed was for someone to stick around at the other end and he would do the rest. That is exactly what happened. As usual, Kohli did not look happy after the victory. There was the scowl and a loud roar as he let out whatever pent up emotions he carries when he bats with such fury. Perhaps he was annoyed at his team-mates for not sticking around. Perhaps he wanted to make sure India won every single match. [caption id=“attachment_1805913” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kohli after his century. PTI image[/caption] There was a knowing smile on Ravi Shastri’s face though as he stood clapping on the team balcony. Shastri wants this team to always play to win. It is a desire Kohli shares. He has shown a penchant for ruthlessness in this series that indicates he could be a captain in the Steve Waugh mould when he eventually takes over from MS Dhoni. Akshar Patel showed a cool head in a touch situation The match was hanging in the balance when the 20-year-old came out to bat. In what was turning out to be a tight chase, Robin Uthappa, Kedar Jadhav, R Ashwin and Stuart Binny had failed to stick around with their captain. Jadhav and Binny in particular fell to shots they did not need to play. Akshar recognised Kohli just needed someone to take singles and stick around, and that is what he did. A streaky boundary off an outside edge aside, it was an innings devoid of risk and exactly what India needed after losing a slew of wickets. Kohli and Akshar added 57 runs together from 33 balls. Akshar’s contribution was 17. That was enough. Akshar has already shown he is a capable limited-overs bowler. Today, he showed he can be handy with the bat too. Ravindra Jadeja better be looking over his shoulder. India’s spinners lack bite India picked three spinners: a left-arm spinner, a leggie and an offie. The pitch was dry and there was significant turn on offer. Sri Lanka lost their top four for 85 runs. And yet the spinners were unable to get on top. Sure, Angelo Mathews played an incredible innings, but this wasn’t one of those occasions where it was a tight duel between bat and ball and the batsman emerged victorious. This was a case of bat clearly dominating ball. The odd one spun past the outside edge and a few hoicks led to wickets but Karn Sharma, Akshar Patel and R Ashwin largely disappointed. For some time now those who play and watch Ranji Trophy cricket have warned that spin is on the wane in India. This might be only one game but it was not encouraging. If batsman are comfortable against spin, as Mathews clearly is, then India’s bowlers pose little threat, even if in home conditions. Ironically, it appears India now possesses a better crop of fast bowlers than it does spinners.