Virat will fire up the match

If there is a “Dictionary of Sporting Words” somewhere, we would not be surprised if it contained the following entry: “Virat: verb, meaning: to thump.”

Shell-shocked South African fans and joyous Indian ones probably wouldn’t argue with that definition after Thursday night’s one-day international between the two countries in Durban, when Indian captain Virat Kohli gave a virtuoso, man of the match performance with a deadly 112, which helped his team to a six-wicket victory.

On this tour to South Africa – first in the Tests and now, seemingly, in the ODIs – Kohli has been relishing taking on our bowlers … not always, however, in a winning cause.

Kohli is one of the world’s best batsmen at the moment and, even if your team is on the receiving end, it is a pleasure to watch his mastery in action.

It is true that Kohli is such a single-minded man that he comes across as arrogant and, sometimes, angry.

That shows his professionalism and commitment … and, dare we say it: some of our own players could learn a thing or two from that level of focus.

Whatever happens in the ODI tomorrow in Centurion – whether the Proteas get him out early or whether he punishes us – it will certainly not be boring.

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