by Cricket probably owes nothing to Virat Kohli. It gave him riches beyond imagination, influence beyond reason, recognition that transformed him into idolatry. But then he gave riches to cricket, both in the money literally taken out of his name and in the intangibles of what his story added to the game. So if the game owed him anything, it was perhaps a stroke of luck, a generous chance for a century to ease the tension of 18 months without a match. Coming out with India two wickets down, 321 runs ahead, with Yashasvi Jaiswal perfectly set on 141 and Australia already whistling, the match delivered one.
The third day of this first Test saw the real Perth appear. This is not the gentle imposter of the previous two days, with their mild temperatures and occasional clouds. By the middle of the third day, even in the shade, the heat was bearing down on you like a herd of cattle jostling to get through a gate. Horrible things to play, even more horrible for the players who knew they had let a game go by with their own bad hour at bat.
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When Kohli was called upon to face the second ball after lunch, the Australians were already on their 85th over. They had removed the suffocating presence of KL Rahul, but Devdutt Padikkal kept the pressure on. Jaiswal had upped his pitch with an uppercut six but was otherwise happy to continue playing percentages. Sure, Australia had the brief benefit of a new ball, but the overnight lead of 218 might already have been enough, so 321 at lunch seemed to have moved the target towards impossibility.
When Padikkal edged Josh Hazlewood to slip the first ball after the break, the clock and the sun were past 1 p.m. Even without heat in the match, there was heat in the ground: the Australians were in the middle of a frying pan. But there is still the warmth of being Kohli, the player fans most want to see succeed. There is desire, waiting. The large Indian contingent in the stands celebrated their first run, a shot to cover, then cooed out a quality run at mid-off for three. After a string of low scores and some early rumors about whether his tenure on the team was expiring, this round still mattered.
Kohli went at it like it was, seeing this new ball, stretching forward to get it into the spaces, taking on the fielders. Dodging a bouncer, stretching forward to cross the cover, three who would have skated for four if not for that extremely slow outfield. Making up for that with a striped forehand, Pat Cummins looks as flat as he has ever been.
With Jaiswal’s score soon crossing 150, like each of his previous three centuries, the line of succession was clear. Think of India’s generational talents in their first Perth Test. The adolescent tone of Sachin Tendulkar at Waca in 1993, arching his back to sculpt the quicks. Kohli’s first visit to Waca in 2012 did not reach the milestone, but he scored in both innings, the last man out for 75 after his teammates fell around him. He got a ton in his first match at the new Perth Stadium in 2018, a top 123 on the spiciest track the ground has ever seen. Now comes Jaiswal: a duck in the first innings, a chase in the second innings.
What stood out about a young player was his concentration, for more than seven hours on the field. He is much more than an IPL hitter. That’s why England opener Ben Duckett was so tone-deaf when he suggested his team’s attacking cricket had “inspired” Jaiswal during their recent series. Jaiswal left home at 12 to live in a tent and work in street markets to fund his education, playing every format available to climb the ranks at Mumbai State before the IPL. English parents would be arrested if they allowed their child to try this. At 22, Jaiswal already has more experience than players from some other countries will ever have.
There have been 1,032 players who have visited Australia and participated in Test cricket. Jaiswal is the 35th to make a hundred in his first match in this country. He is something else: a youthful face, an ancient hunger. He looked born to play in Perth, relishing the bounce, the chance to play off the back foot in his unusual style, using an almost straight bat to pass through point, or going over the cordon with a saber show.
And when he was out, quickly followed by Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel, it allowed Kohli to go from quiet partner to charismatic leader. He scored 89 with Washington Sundar, 77 with Nitish Reddy. The roar of the half century was enormous, not to mention the construction of the hundred. Kohli didn’t slow down though, sweeping and bowling Nathan Lyon. After a finer sweep on 96 and a boundary dive, there was a very human moment, Kohli craning his neck to see the umpire, unsure if it had been signaled four. Don’t worry, you have it.
So the statement, then Jasprit Bumrah devastating another drive late in the day: 534 to win, Australia 12 for three. To a certain extent, the Kohli were junk races, but they were races that left Australia more and more deeply cooked, a stew left to simmer until every recognizable component of meat or vegetable was breaks down into swirls of bubbling mush. These are races that have left India reveling in a talisman that is doing well. The unnecessary runs in this match could still matter in the series, if this innings keeps Kohli purring for closer contests.
And while Kohli isn’t done yet, these were runs that could inform the handover to his protégé. If Jaiswal is hungry, he could still learn from the skinny old wolf. Single sprint in the heat, concerned with respecting a standard more than the score. Piling into the short balls of Marnus Labuschagne, without hesitation to whistle the limits of a part-time. Ruthless, just like his team. With India 453 runs ahead, Kohli argued with the umpire over a wide.
