Indian skipper Virat Kohli not only ranks among the finest cricketers of his generation but has already established himself as an all-time great. However, apart from his exceptional qualities as a batsman, his astonishing levels of fitness makes him stand out from the rest.
During the first day’s play in the second Test match between Australia and India at Perth, Kohli gave us an example of his brilliant athleticism on the field.
The Aussie scorecard stood still at 148/3 when Ishant Sharma ran in hard at batsman Peter Handscomb. Facing a fiery short delivery from the bowler, 27-year-old Handscomb edged the ball to the slip cordon.
The ball was flying way above Virat Kohli’s head, who was standing at second slip. In a bid to catch the ball, Kohli stretched out his right hand and took his feet off the ground. Result? A one-handed stunner of a catch!
You can watch the brilliant effort here:
TAKE A BOW @IMVKOHLI 🇮🇳👑
A piece of genius from #KingKohli in the slips https://t.co/EM9t1uPKGo #Kohli #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/64WGLLKDKM
— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) December 14, 2018
Peter Handscomb had to make the long walk back for a mere score of 7, thanks to Virat Kohli and his inspiring flexibility.
And of course, Desi Twitter was absolutely thrilled.
https://twitter.com/PTIforeverr/status/1073484985213091840
It's brilliant 😮..Well done #Kohli #INDvAUS #AUSvIND #perthtest
— Joshua (@JoshJey16) December 14, 2018
Amazing unbelievable catch.
Super cap-Kohli.— Ravi Jha (@RaviJha13777764) December 14, 2018
right now whatever @imVkohli is touching is turning into gold or catch
— Khurram (@Siddiqi__) December 14, 2018
Marvelous catch
— babji60 (@babji60) December 14, 2018
A stunning grab from Virat Kohli shortly after the tea break!#AUSvIND | @bet365_aus pic.twitter.com/ZgV3i3ENiY
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 14, 2018
Eat 🥘
sleep 💤
Score 💯
Take stunning catches 😯Indian captain – Virat Kohli takes a blinder at second slip off Ishant to remove Handscomb.
AUS – 148/4 https://t.co/jNwpoO6oWa #AUSvsIND
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) December 14, 2018
Superman Kohli. This man can fly, too. #INDvAUS #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/gh0OYyN1VT
— Madhav Sharma (@HashTagCricket) December 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/Pranjultweet/status/1073490045917585408
Now, that’s what we call ‘leading by example’.