How a 19,000 strong crowd at the Wankhede combined with Kohli on his way to a magical double century

Over the weekend in Mumbai, Virat Kohli was the magician. The Wankhede was his stage. The English team was his subject. He wielded his bat like a wand and cast his spell on the 19,444 people who were at one of cricket’s most illustrious stadiums.

They had waited the entire Friday to watch India’s cricket heartthrob walk out to bat. They had come in with Kohli painted on their faces, Kohli on the back of their jerseys and Kohli on the posters they had carried.

When KL Rahul was on his way back to the pavilion on Friday afternoon, there were scattered shouts of “Kohli, Kohli” from parts of the ground. Some of the fans could wait no longer. Some others were confused; they had forgotten that Cheteshwar Pujara is India’s Test number three.

Pujara walked in, against the hopes of those parts of the crowd. And he batted along with Murali Vijay for the rest of the day to ensure the dash of Kohli the crowd yearned for had to wait.

But it had to change on Saturday. The wait had to end. And it did just two balls into the day’s play. Pujara’s stumps were rattled as he shouldered arms to a Jake Ball delivery.

It was too early in the day. The crowd was yet to settle down. They were still in the process of figuring their seats out. But it was happening. India’s Test captain was about to bat. Those inside the stands stopped all they were up to and stood in anticipation of one of the best in world cricket at present. Those outside the stands, rushed inside – almost tripping over each other.

There was no confusion about who would walk out to bat now. Just that the crowd was a tad under-prepared to welcome its hero. Yet, they started to chant. “Kohli, Kohli”, the fans went. It was no “Sach-in, Sach-in” but it had a buzz. And it was supplemented with music from the dhols that rang from every corner of the Wankhede.

The showstopper marks his guard

Kohli jogged down the steps from India’s dressing room. The fans in the Mumbai Cricket Association Pavilion stood, pinned to its grill like they had been for their original hero – Sachin Tendulkar for the last two decades.

Pujara’s dismissal had been long forgotten. It was all about giving their leader a clamorous welcome. Wankhede is known to be loud. On Saturday, even the half-packed Wankhede was deafening in its welcome of Kohli.

The crowd only took their seats once Kohli had seen off the over. But by now they had told him that he was in charge. They had cheered when he, standing at first slip, had asked them to cheer, amidst a slow phase on Day 2. They promised to redefine support when he batted on Saturday.

A few overs after Kohli had walked in, the crowds decided to give the “Kohli, Kohli” chant another go. It was louder this time. It was “Koh-li, Koh-li”, in a tone reminiscent of the Sachin chant. The entire stadium sang it in unison. The stadium was now alive.

Kohli responded to the chant with a textbook cover drive to the fence off Moeen Ali. It was the last ball of the over. So while he waited at the non-striker’s end as Ben Stokes prepared to bowl to Vijay, he shadow practiced the cover-drive. The boundary had not satisfied Kohli, he believed he could do better.

But interestingly, sections of the crowd shadow practiced the cover drive with the skipper. It did not quite have the synchronization like the fans in the MCG’s Bay13 that would imitate Merv Hughes warm-up routin, but it was another way of the Wankhede crowd telling Kohli that they were in it with him together.

Later when the English tried to bounce Kohli, the crowd would warn the bowler with a wave of “ayeeeee”. And with the support behind him, Kohli would often respond by pulling one of the next bouncers.

England vs Kohli and the Wankhede

While Kohli made batting look easy, the pitch was far from it. Hence, even he would be beaten by the turning ball. That is when a raucous boo would fill the stadium. The fans were unhappy that the surface and the bowler could combine to beat their captain. And they were vocal about it.

In fact, when Kohli’s catch was grassed by Adil Rashid, the stadium heaved a collective sigh of relief. The decibel levels were right up there before the delivery, but the moment Kohli was dropped, there was a moment of silence followed by jubilation again.

The vocal strength of the fans came back to the fore when Kohli neared his century. If there was a uproar when he walked out to bat, there was pandemonium when he was on the verge of his 15th Test century. For ten minutes in the lead up to the hundred, the stadium was on its feet. Even those who had thought of it not necessary to stand and applaud Vijay when he completed his ton earlier on Saturday were up in anticipation of Kohli’s century.

By now, even the men with the dhol played their music in tandem with the “Koh-li, Koh-li” chants. And the stadium erupted as soon as Kohli ran off a misfield to complete his century.

From one legend to another

Kohli celebrated his ton with a passionate jump and swirl of the bat in the air. He then stood in the middle of the ground with both his arms raised – helmet in one hand, bat in the other – and acknowledged the crowd for being a part of his journey.

That is when a youngster in the crowd noticed, “He has not celebrated his hundred in this manner in a while. This century means a lot to him. We are lucky to have seen it live!”

The fan was right. Kohli’s century in tough conditions had taken India past England’s score. Also, all those who were witness to the knock in the ground had their I-was-there moment.

On the big screen, various messages from fans in the stadium are displayed. There was one particular message that spoke of how Kohli was the next best thing to happen to Indian cricket after Tendulkar.

The message was true. It was even better that Kohli could enthrall the people from Tendulkar’s city with a masterful innings that the legend would be proud of.

When he led both the teams off the field at stumps, Kohli had the crowd on its feet. Like he had, when he walked in to bat and, later, when he raised his ton and on Sunday, his double ton. But this time even the touring fans recognised the mastery of his art, and joined the locals in giving him a standing ovation.