There’s nothing quite like a Virat Kohli press conference.
When he speaks, you listen. When he cracks a joke, you laugh. There was 140 (or more) Indian media and half a dozen Kiwi equivalent, hanging on every word of the Indian captain, the batting master who is every chance to play a vital role in his team’s possible success against New Zealand tonight.
Everyone wants to be able to ask a question. I don’t envy the Indian team’s media manager who must, sometimes, feel like he’s in Westlife or Atomic Kitten, such is the number of hands and arms being waved side-to-side, pleading to be handed the microphone. The conductor, directing rush hour traffic, making sure the mic lands where he wants it.
I was assuming that would be only in the hands of Indian journalists, an enormous throng packed like sardines to hear the thoughts of their cricketing deity, on the biggest day in their country’s sporting history for the past four years (they’re of course hoping there’s one more day with even more riding on it in a few days time, if they can get past the under-performing but still dangerous and capable Black Caps).
But, how wrong I was.
Against what seemed all the odds, I managed to get a question in. About the 2008 under-19 World Cup semi-final between New Zealand and India. On that day, Kane Williamson captained the Kiwis and, you guessed it, Virat Kohli captained the Indians (funnily enough, Kohli actually got the wicket of Williamson on that day! Something tells me it’s unlikely to happen again here at Old Trafford).
Not only did I get to ask a question, but the answer Kohli gave was insightful, interesting and informative, even adding an anecdote of when playing against Williamson in an under-19 test match in New Zealand a year earlier and remarking a shot that the Kiwi youngster played was one of the best he’d seen.
Keep in mind, there’s half an hour of a barrage of questions, a slightly different barrage to what he may face from Lockie Ferguson tomorrow, but not once did Kohli ever look disinterested, bored or counting down the minutes until it was over.
Add to that, the weight on his shoulders. He has most of a country riding every move he makes during this tournament. As crazy as it sounds, some lives could literally depend on the outcome of this match.
Cricket is like a religion to Indian people and they need to see their team win tomorrow to avoid tears of rather epic proportions. Not that you’d know it from the body language of the Indian captain.
King Kohli oozes composure, with a look of not having a care in the world. It really is quite something to witness. This is a guy who has been compared to Sachin Tendulkar, a leader who is facing the biggest day in his career to date and there doesn’t look to be an ounce of it playing on his mind.
Speaking to Indian journalists after his press conference, they say he will feel the pressure, he always does.
But what makes him the great player that he is, is the ability to turn that pressure into a strength. To feed off it and use it as motivation to perform to his best.
Chances are fairly high he will do just that and put India in a strong position to push for another World Cup final berth and make the following media contingent gather again for a few more days at the Home of Cricket, Lord’s.
Standing between him and his team achieving that is Kane Williamson and the Black Caps. On their day, a stoic opponent who has every chance of testing India, if they can improve to the heights they’re capable of. Williamson needs to be the one to lead that.
Chances are he will. But whether it’s enough to cause a mammoth upset? Well, they’ve done the unthinkable before.
As for King Kane’s press conference gathering compared to King Kohli’s? He drew just as many.
Cricketing royalty, ready to rumble in Manchester.
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