Why Team India is safe under captain Kohli

Virat Kohli’s reaction when Sri Lanka lost their last wicket soon after lunch, that gave him his first Test victory as Team India captain was - for his fans and I daresay, even some in the media – disappointingly sedate.

There was little chest-thumping, no Tarzan-like war cry, no jig and jump that everybody expected. Indeed, if you had to read his lips, instead of the colourful expletives usually associated with him, they would have spelt out a benign, "I’m so happy."

It’s not that Kohli wasn’t excited about the win. Coming as it did after the stunning reversal in the first Test at Galle, this got India level in the series, with the momentum firmly with his team for the final match in a few days' time. He would have been over the moon.

Remember also that this win, coming as it did, in only his fifth match in charge of the Test side – one of those matches had him in a stopgap role in Australia when MS Dhoni was unfit – constitutes a very impressive start, all things considered.

But in these days of instant gratification, patience with players – especially Team India captains – is short and expectations sky high. Kohli would have known that he was under the microscope in everything he did and the outcome of it.

For instance, there were sniggers and skepticism when he decided that Ajinkya Rahane would bat at number three in the second Test. Didn't he say before the first Test that Rohit Sharma was a potential matchwinner in this position? What made him change his mind? Does he know what he is saying and doing?

As it turned out, almost every decision that Kohli took in this Test paid off. But then, that could well have been said about almost everything that he did even in the first Test, barring one session when India collapsed and lost the match.

That defeat, I believe, was a chastening experience for Kohli. He has come to realise that in a team sport – especially cricket, where decision-making is paramount - the best thought out plans can boomerang and with a little luck, some outrageous gambles can pay off.

This can make a player sensitive to the logic of cricket. I think Kohli is beginning to see the world, the game and perhaps himself differently now that the buck stops with him.

Why am I spending so many words on the Indian capain when there were other, perhaps bigger heroes in the Test: like KL Rahul (man of the match for his first innings century), Ajinkya Rahane (for his splendid second innings century that may have sealed the debate over who bats at number three), R Ashwin (who took five wickets in the Test to precipitate the Sri Lankan collapse) and of course Kumar Sangakkara whose swansong it was and who was offered the UK high commissionership by president Maithripala Srisena in an unprecedented gesture?

For two reasons: one limited to how this match panned out into a win for India, the second for what Kohli’s maiden success could mean for the future of Indian cricket which has been in a piquant situation for a fair while now.

Whatever the achievements of the other players in this match, Kohli, in my opinion, was the prime factor behind India's win. In the first innings, he came in to bat with his side under pressure at 21-2 and memories of the defeat in Galle still fresh.

But for Kohli’s forthright approach which dispelled the pressure, the match could have swung away from India irretrievably. It was his batsmanship that allowed Rahul and later Rohit to bloom and take the score to 393.

He was to play an even bigger role in restricting Sri Lanka’s progress on the third day by marshalling his resources superbly with aggressive field placings and shrewd bowling changes. At one stage, Sri Lanka were 241 for 3 but folded up for 306 under the pressure.

Thereafter, India outbatted and outbowled their rivals completely, but the decisive passage of play had been won with the help of Kohli’s captaincy more than anything else. He was ambitious, intense, focused and clever.

The extent of Kohli’s influence on this team could be felt even beyond the field of play. In press conferences – before and after the match – he has been candid, articulate, has shown a reluctance for making excuses when things have gone wrong or hogging all the credit when they have gone right.

There is also a firmness and self-belief that comes through clearly. Under some criticism even from former players for experimenting with the batting order, he was quick to point out that the players could be shuffled again, asserting his rights as the captain.

His natural strut (not to mention a high-profile love affair with a Bollywood actress) has made Kohli the most newsworthy player, not just in India but perhaps globally. Stardom comes to him naturally, with all the plaudits and pitfalls.

But I think the more creditworthy is his magnificent batsmanship and unflinching straight-talking which could become his bigger assets. He’s "new age" in his thinking, a new captain too, and has now also got his first win as Test captain.

This should swiftly imbue Kohli with the age-old understanding that successful leadership is about managing fellow players to win matches, and not an ego trip or vaudeville show. Unless he reneges badly on his promise, I feel Indian cricket looks to be in good hands.