Adelaide and Virat Kohli – a romance for the ages

Can you really separate Chepauk from Sachin? Or Eden from Rohit or Newlands from Philander? VVS and Eden is another love story that has folklore written all over it. Those are some partnerships if you look from a nostalgic stand-point and revel in the beauty of how that grew in our fondest memories, providing us joy as cricket fans and making us root for more.

Wait, Let’s add one more. Virat Kohli and the Adelaide Oval – the modern-day equivalent of Sachin and Chennai. Mitchell Starc might be the original Mowgli who has set up his base right with a Pink ball in hand in the city of Churches, but Kohli is king of South Australia now. Who knows a mansion has already been named in his honour or the local soymilk supplier has already created a local Kohli brand there?

Also Read: Mathews Ruled Out For SA Series

Or else, how do you explain an Indian batsman scoring 500 Test runs at a single venue. Ludicrous, isn’t it?

But now let’s step back. Let’s understand why this romance has really attained its level of gluttony that we have all been hooked up to? Is it only the runs he scores, or the number of boundaries he hits to enthrall the lovely South Aussies or is it just because he comes back here more than any other player does?

Kohli’s romance with Adelaide has grown with time

Honestly, it is none of that. It is a romance that has actually grown with time. It is a romance that has shaped not only from the periphery but also on a spiritual level where the Delhi boy can connect the dots of his entire career here and be proud of everything he has achieved.

In a gloomy December day in 2011, a forgettable year for Indian cricket fans after the highs of the World Cup, Kohli scored a defiant century – the first of his career – to save India the blushes. It was the only century scored by an Indian batsman that tour whereas the Aussies made thousands of them.

Kohli was under immense pressure with everyone calling for his head, but staying true to the faith shown by his skipper MS Dhoni, Kohli ensured he chartered to a territory very few could. Can he ever forget that?

In 2014, leading India in the Test format for the first time, Kohli was his animated best. He didn’t let the fire in his belly die down even for a bit and batted like a champion. His twin centuries were for the ages, but his approach as a leader gave a real glimpse of India’s new-found domination.

The moment he shed away the approach of going for a draw was the seminal moment and dawn that wrote history in golden letters. India lost the Test but as Virat Kohli always mentions, it was his best-ever effort he has always been proud of.

Four years later, he was back again in Australia. A more mature and statesman-like character. A guy who no longer believed in the idea of just being brash about things rather had substance in his sleeves. Adelaide was the curtain-raiser and a win was the formal sign of things to come.

After mauling in South Africa and England – at least in the series margin – Australia was a breath of fresh air and by the time India lifted the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney, the caravan had much to say.

Two years later, Kohli is in Australia again. It is the curtain-raiser too but for him, the only chance to shine before he goes back home for the birth of his first child. And he dug deep. Batting against the fiery Aussie quicks and India’s arch-nemesis Nathan Lyon, he was grittiness personified. Each run had toil written on it but Kohli never ever lost his hope. He carried on before an unfortunate run-out brought an end to his innings.

That’s the beauty of Kohli and Adelaide. A venue that has been so dear to him in thick and thin. The Kohli story’s few ultimate pages are written here.