Virat Kohli, and finding tranquillity between 22 yards

"I made my debut here and it wasn't a memorable series for me. Coming back here and getting a double hundred gives me a lot of satisfaction purely because of the fact that I have missed a couple of big scores in the past,"

By the time Virat Kohli managed to bring up his maiden double ton in Tests, it seemed like he was simply going through the motions. But for Kohli himself, it was a long-cherished dream that was realised on Friday (July 22) against West Indies at Antigua.

Often in sports, very few are accorded the title of 'great' while they are still playing. It is an honour usually bestowed in retrospect. Kohli hasn't taken long to progress from a prodigy to becoming one of India's finest cricketers. Within a few years into international cricket, he has gone on to establish himself as a batting legend in limited-overs, a position he has cemented further with each passing series. However, success in the longer format had seemed teasingly elusive and almost the only undoing for those who wanted to call him a 'great'.

After his Antigua knock, Harsha Bhogle quipped, "Before this series started, Virat Kohli had a batting average of 44. It should never get there again."

There was a maiden century at Adelaide when the team was reduced to 111 for 5, with all the top-order batsmen back in the pavilion. Two matches later, there was a ton and an unbeaten half-century against New Zealand at Bangalore. There were also the knocks of 119 and 96 in Johannesburg, and a second innings century in Wellington. But all these came sandwiched between numerous ordinary shows, quite unlike his limited-overs exploits, and unworthy of the reputation he had built of being among the finest young batsmen in modern cricket.

Nonetheless, for a man who has pursued success so hard, it was only a matter of time that he got his due in the longer format. Sticking to a conventional batting approach in times when innovation had become the norm, he notched up four centuries during India's tour Down Under in 2014-15. The wickets were flat, and the attack, far less venomous than what his predecessors had to face every time they arrived to Australia. But that didn't take away the fact that he stood head and shoulders above the rest of his teammates as India pursued their maiden series win Down Under.

"I know I have the ability to get big hundreds," Kohli told bcci.tv. "This is my first double hundred in first-class matches in general, so this is something I always wanted to do and I am feeling really grateful today that I was able to cross the mark. It is just a very good feeling. Test cricket is the most important format as far as I am concerned and the whole of team is concerned, so when you do well in Test cricket, it gives you the job satisfaction like nothing else. I am really happy for this moment."

Kohli's growth as a cricketer has gone hand in hand with his matured display on the field. From being the brash, foul-mouthed poster-boy of modern India, he has turned into a symbol of hard work - one who could celebrate landmarks without profanities and execute plans without over-the-top animation. Not surprisingly, it took little time for the opposition to realise that riling him with sledges wouldn't help their cause much.

Having been handed over the responsibility of leading the side has only added to the list of demands, which includes being the team's most reliable bet with the bat and living up to the high expectations of the fans. Occupying one of the most demanding jobs in world sports, where every movement is observed, dissected and analysed, it is batting - his primary love - that brings him, in the words of Kung Fu Panda's Master Shifu, 'inner peace'.

"When you perform for a certain period of time, people are going to expect things from you, but I take that up as a blessing. If people expect me to go out there and perform, it is because they like the way I play. They want me to do well so that the team can do well. I always wanted to be in that position so I have no complaints about it. I rather feel happy about it and I feel grateful that I am in this situation."

While his body language on the field has become more controlled over the years, the aggression in his game hasn't died. As a captain, he has adopted the five-bowler strategy for a team that was used to the cushion of playing seven batsmen for long. The approach has been welcomed, and to the team's liking, the move has yielded the desired result so far.

"It is very important to understand the responsibility in front of you when you go in with a combination," he said while explaining the decision. "Playing five batsmen is a bit of an added pressure on the batsman but that is what we want to take up as a challenge. The batsmen decided to take up the responsibility. As captain, I would never ask the players to do what I cannot do myself first and I have always believed in that."