Happy Birthday Virat Kohli: The King you know but the journey you don’t

Do you require a particular occasion to feel extra special if you are Virat Kohli? Walking out to bat and hearing 70,000 people yell “Happy Birthday” must seem weird. Then again, would it really have mattered if it hadn’t been his 35th birthday? Does Kohli care about anything at all? Whether he is fielding or batting, playing in the IPL or internationally, at a nets session, or during a World Cup match, he almost never loses focus. You cannot run away from expectations if you are a Kohli. If you are Kohli, the inspection is so regular and minute that it gets monotonous. The tension is constant.

At the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai a few days ago, Kohli came up 12 shy of matching Tendulkar’s global record of 49 ODI centuries. How wonderful it would have been to achieve a godly rank in God’s house, especially against Sri Lanka, whom India defeated twelve years prior.

Where Virat Kohli’s journey began

He’s going on a date this time to Eden Gardens in Kolkata, South Africa. Undoubtedly, fate would not abandon him twice—not on his birthday, not on the spot where his story began fourteen years prior. In order to help India chase down 316 with seven wickets in hand on a chilly December evening in 2009, Kohli, who was still getting used to playing at the international level, hit a magnificent 107 off 114 balls, his first century. After his match, Gautam Gambhir called Kohli to share the Player of the Match honor despite being the unbeaten 150th player in the tournament.

It was the first of Kohli’s 27 runs in a run chase, in addition to his 48 ODI centuries. The thrill was the same, even though the circumstances of making an international century in front of a sizable crowd were different. Naturally, he had experience scoring hundreds of years at the Eden Gardens. Even though he was born in Delhi, Kohli spent a lot of his early cricket career playing at this iconic ground and scoring hundreds, the most recent of which came just six months prior to that terrible night against Sri Lanka in a P.S. Trophy final.

Also read: Kolkata weather report for IND vs.SA in the ICC CWC 2023: Will rain cancel today’s match at Eden Gardens?

In pursuit of his elusive 49th hundred, Kohli, now the unchallenged King, will return to Eden Gardens after 14 years. Grand plans were also made at the venue to give out Kohli masks to every fan and hold a cake-cutting ceremony prior to the commencement of play. However, these plans had to be abandoned at the last minute since the International Cricket Council (ICC) prohibits players from making such extravagant gestures during a World Cup.