Skipper pouches 100th Test catch to dismiss Bavuma, is 6th Indian to get to the milestone
While a 71st international hundred has been eluding him since November 2019, Virat Kohli still found a way to get to three figures. When Virat Kohli dived to his left in second slip to complete the catch of Temba Bavuma, he reached a milestone which probably won't be celebrated as many of his others. But the player and captain Kohli is, he will cherish it as much as all those which he has already achieved.
It was Kohli's 100th Test catch in 99 games and he is now the sixth Indian outfielder to reach the 'century'. While most of Kohli's catches have come fielding in the slips, he is an equally proficient fielder in the outfield as well.
Sunil Gavaskar, who was the first Indian to reach the landmark, feels that Kohli's achievement is even more special because he is such a bundle of energy and is also the captain of the team.
"Slip catching is so much about concentration, but Kohli has so much going through his mind. Add to that his energy on the field…It is not easy to keep your concentration and wait for the one ball that will probably come your way through the day," Gavaskar said while on air.
Former Indian fielding coach R Sridhar, who turned Kohli into a slip fielder in 2015 when he became the captain, said it is the Indian Test captain's observation skills that makes him so good.
"He observes everything. Virat anticipates the edge brilliantly…He has a mind that works over-time and it is a unique ability to multi-task and still be such a brilliant slip fielder," Sridhar told TOI.
Initially, the Indian team management felt that Virat's on-your-face aggression was better suited to a position which is in front of the batsman's eyes. "He wasn't a natural slip fielder. But during that Sri Lanka tour, there was a lot of chopping and changing going on and we wanted a slip fielder who would be playing all the games...Virat, being the captain, would obviously be there and that's why we wanted him to be a permanent fixture in slip. There were the odd mistakes initially, but he worked hard and here he is," Sridhar added.
While Kohli became a regular slip fielder post 2015 against pacers, Ajinkya Rahane held on to his spot as the lone slip fielder against spinners. Rahane, too, has 99 Test catches but Sridhar said that Kohli can be good against spin too in the slips.
"He has soft hands and he has stood there when Rahane hasn't been there. The aggression and intensity that he brings to his fielding is unbelievable," Sridhar added.
The former fielding coach also felt that it is Kohli who changed India's attitude to fielding.
