Happy birthday, Virat Kohli – the silent guardian of Cricket’s Gotham

It’s that very special day of the year once again where cricket fans unite to celebrate the birthday of a man who reshaped the contours of Indian cricket. The King has possibly conquered it all. From the glam of the World Cup to the joyous cacophony of the IPL, from the glares of Melbourne to the unimaginable chases, Virat Kohli has been the master of it all.

Now, as the fans patiently wait for him to take the yard in the limited games that he features in, it turns into an agonizing one. Every time Kohli walks out in the center, more than the deafening silence of a wicket that has just fallen, the world chants his name, hoping to witness the titan in action.

Greatness comes very naturally to the big man. You don’t believe us? Well let’s take you back to the gloomy evening of Wankhede in 2011. When the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed, a deafening silence fell across the Indian fans, like a shadow of doom, like the hopelessness which prevails across the fearful feeling of whether the nation will witness a heartbreak in its very own backyard?

In walks a youngster, a kid who has been highly talked about. Three years prior, the same kid led the Indian U-19 team to glory in Kuala Lumpur. Can that kid deliver? Or is it too overwhelming for him to confront the formidable might of Lasith Malinga breathing fire? The initial deliveries didn’t offer hope for the young kid either. He clearly looked like he was struggling. It took him 11 balls to break free from the shackles but when he did, man o man! It came through a flick for the ages!

Well, he missed out on turning it into a knock to remember but he did lay the brickwork that allowed India to wriggle free from the immediate danger that bared its fangs like a basilisk.

13 years later, India were gearing up for another grand finale and this time in cricket’s shortest format. It had been 17 years since India last tasted glory in the T20 World Cup.

Virat Kohli had a very lean patch going into the finale and even before Marco Jansen could gather his wits around him, Kohli had already struck him for two boundaries in the opening over of the final. The beginning of the end has already arrived for South Africa. Unfortunately, the Indian batters had slipped into cautious grounds. And out of nowhere like a trainwreck, India’s dominant start fizzled out of the window and came a gloomy winter, shadowing the incarnadine dawn.

India needed hope and like a man of night’s watch, Virat kept his vigil. After trading blows with the Proteas’ fine bowling unit, he decided he will get the big guns out. And from thereon, the South Africans started stepping back unless they were forced to quiver and eventually topple across the cliff.

That’s what Virat Kohli is all about. Just when everyone starts to lose belief, he decides to pick up his pace. Just when the swords are out, he brings out his shield. Just when the nation needs a hero, he unleashes himself tenfold. Virat Kohli doesn’t cower. It’s not that he is immaculate but when he chooses to be, it’s the most refined poetry that you will read on the cricketing yards.

When he chooses to smack the bowlers out of their skins, it’s the most brutal assault that you would witness. And just when there is a new mountain of odds, he would scale the peak over and over and over again unless he owns it, he bosses it and he stamps his authority on it.

Virat, we wish you a very happy birthday. Hope you're having a blast, King.