Some years ago, a friend lent me a book hoping Id be as excited about it as he was. I cant recall the title but the authors name was T. Lobsang Rampa, and, if I remember correctly, he was a monk or some kind of religious man. I read the book. It had a lot to do with things I had no clue about then (astral travel and telepathy for example) and still don't understand today. There was, however, a proverb in its pages that I never totally forgot.
I'm not able to record it word for word but I still retain the gist of it I hope. Some scientists were experimenting with fleas. They would set the fleas down and then yell, jump. This they did, jumping to a great height. The scientists then removed a leg from each flea before instructing them to again jump, which they did, this time to a reduced height. This sequence was repeated until the fleas had all their legs missing, whereupon they were unable to jump regardless of how loudly and how often the scientists shouted. The conclusion: A flea's hearing is in its feet. Totally erroneous. Totally nonsensical.
It sometimes takes some doing but there are times we learn the wrong lesson from an event or an experience. Occasionally, we confuse correlation with cause and so come away with a faulty understanding of the ramifications of what actually occurred. This leaves us in jeopardy of making a flawed response were a similar circumstance to arise; if you keep learning the wrong lessons then you are destined to repeat the same mistakes.
This, I fear, is the predicament in which Virat Kohli might find himself. India's best batsman, much to India's delight, has reversed the malady of poor form that plagued him during his last visit abroad, and is currently at his superlative best in Australia. Two hundreds came in Adelaide, the second of which brought India within sniffing distance of what would have been a stunning win. He did little in Brisbane but his first innings 169 at The Melbourne Cricket Ground, much of it in the company of the equally dazzling Ajinkya Rahane, was, for the most part, stunning strokeplay of the highest class.
Still, it was not an innings without blemish. The blemish was not brought about by any deficiency in skill or flaw in technique; rather, it was the result of the batsman's own thought process.
It all started when Mitchell Johnson's aggressive attempt to throw down the stumps ended with Kohli being hit. The bowler apologized immediately, but Kohli seemed to think the throw actually achieved the throwers objective. He seethed. And he didn't care that it showed either.More crucially, Kohli appeared to lose some control. He was lucky to miss the very next delivery with an extravagant swish aimed somewhere on the offside; his left foot was nowhere close to where it should have been. Three balls later another loose drive found a path between third slip and gully on its way to the boundary.
Off the first ball of Johnson's next over, he offered a fairly simple catch to Shane Watson at slip, and was happy, along with all of India, to see it grassed. During Johnson's next over, the batsman was visited by fortune once again when he top-edged an ill-advised pull shot that just managed to elude a hard running Brad Haddin. All this time, the atmosphere was steeped in tension and thick with chatter. Kohli seemed content to take on anyone half-willing to engage, but he also seemed to lose focus, thereby playing right into his opponents hands.
Now, I know Kohli made a huge score and so one should hardly quibble. Yet it ought to be acknowledged that the batsman was lucky to survive, and had he needlessly given up his wicket at the time, it could have been tragedy for India as the subsequent collapse that followed his departure showed. He was 84 when hit by Johnson; if Kohli had departed then India would most likely have accumulated much less than their eventual 465, and might have lost rather than drawn the Test. He would have done his side a disservice.
Kohli's folly was camouflaged by his big score. Anyone tempted to think that his serendipitous survival validated his reaction to Johnson's action and to the excessive sledging, would have learnt the wrong lesson. The proper reaction would have been to keep calm, be calculating, to play each delivery on merit, just as if the middle of the Melbourne Cricket Ground was as quiet as the Melbourne Athenaeum Library.
Attempting to teach the bowler and his opponents a lesson, which is what Kohli did, was exactly the wrong response, and is undoubtedly the one the Australians were hoping to provoke. In other words, Kohli was playing into Australias hands.
Never hate your enemies, philosophized Michael Carleone, the main character in Mario Puzzo's The Godfather III, to his nephew, Vincent, who he was preparing to succeed him as head of the family business, and who was suggesting ways to eliminate a rival he intensely disliked, it affects your judgment.
Kohli's remarks after the game about only respecting those who return the favour, and him accusing the Australians of hating him suggests he is taking things personal. Again, he should consider the wisdom of Michael Carleones popular refrain, it's not personal, it's strictly business. The next time your opponent aggravates you, Kohli, keep calm.
cricbuzz.com
