Kohli rolls back the clock with a vintage knock

Virat Kohli inside edges a delivery from Hardik Pandya, which, given his luck at the moment, could have easily gone to hit the stumps.

Yesterday, it didn't. Instead, it ran away for a boundary. Kohli couldn't believe it. But, to be fair, no one did.

And, out came his quintessential guttural roar and a fist pump.

Next delivery, Virat shuffles and flicks a full-length delivery towards short fine-leg from Hardik, but Rashid Khan misjudges it by coming in.

Two lucky escapes on consecutive deliveries for Virat. The winds of change, it seemed, had started to blow. Suddenly, it looked as if the sun would peek out after a long, miserable night.

Kohli compared the moment to the Edgbaston Test of 2018 when he went to make a breathtaking 149 after being dropped by Dawid Malan.

The juggernaut started after that dropped catch as he exorcised demons from the previous tour of England.

Kohli knows that this very slice of luck can spur on good times again.

And, mind you, the juggernaut did start after those lucky reprieves.

Those two deliveries aside, there was nothing scratchy about this knock from Virat as the champion batsman painted the Wankhede Stadium with his artistic and, at times, authoritative strokeplay.

Vintage Kohli was on display as he regularly danced down the track to either slap pacers past covers or mid-wicket or loft spinners over the top.

Virat has scored a lot of half-centuries since his last hundred but rarely has he dominated attacks like he did today.

He picked lengths very early and was quick to latch on to anything that was in his arc.

It's amazing what a little slice of luck can do to your confidence. It tends to break the shackles that have been formed in your team following a consistent spell of failures.

Suddenly, you're a free man, empowered, energized to take on the entire world again. You can just sense that from the manner in which Virat celebrated after getting to his half-century.

The same Kohli, who was like, `Why me, God, why me?' with a resigned look and both hands up in the air just a few nights ago, had a smile on his face as he regularly pointed upwards to thank the almighty.

More than the number of runs that Virat eventually got today- 73 off 54 deliveries- the sense of confidence and authoritarianism that he oozed made this knock a special one.

It's just one knock, though. But, given how he batted today, Virat may have just unlocked the first shackle of prison he's found himself in in the last two years.