Kohli revels in a new, delightful version of himself

Virat Kohli's batting has been all about becoming so good and so fit that he doesn't have to take any risk. This is not an attempt at Kohli exceptionalism. Yes, batting is all about risk management, but there are levels to it. Kohli has been obsessed with avoiding or delaying it as much as possible.

Conditions in Test cricket make it physically impossible to score runs without taking the odd risk, and Kohli's relationship with risk in T20s has been fraught. ODIs, though, are his playground. Kohli has stayed either the best or among the two or three best batters in ODIs for the best part of 18 years without ever being the most spectacular.

Since the start of the South Africa series, though, Kohli has unveiled a newer version of himself. It would be simplistic to call it an upgrade because everything is a trade-off - and this is just the start and everything is coming off for now - but you almost feel like cheated that Kohli denied you this delightful version of himself. What defined Kohli the ODI batter, this ruthless accumulation and obsession with completing the job, also perhaps denied us experiencing the highest of highs. It is almost as if now he has allowed himself to be freer, or in his own words, "not play the situation" so much.

As a result, Kohli is taking more risks and taking them sooner. It hadn't seemed possible, but we have an even more delightful version of Kohli the ODI batter. Since the start of the South Africa series, he is striking at 103.75 in the first 20 balls, hitting a boundary every six balls. A good comparison would be the 2023 World Cup, when he was in similar good form and scored plenty of hundreds. There he started at 80.19 and hit a boundary every nine balls.

Especially when batting first, Kohli is going harder sooner. In the two matches that India batted first against South Africa, he hit a six each in the first 20 balls he faced. In the two preceding years he did so only once, and that too off a free hit. The Ranchi ODI was the first time he hit more than one six in the powerplay when batting first. By the end of the 20th over, he had hit four sixes; the most he had ever hit in the first 20 overs before this was two. You need every last one of those extra runs because the dew in the night is often worth 50 or so runs.

In Vadodara against New Zealand, Kohli walked in and freed up Shubman Gill, who is going through a tough phase personally and was facing just about the perfect bowling New Zealand could have mustered at that time given their resources and the conditions. No more dabbing balls to third to get going. He charged at the bowlers and lofted them.

As Kohli confirmed later, it was only because he was chasing that he held himself back later on in the innings. He had to rein himself in. In what should be a warning for sides around the world, Kohli said the way he is batting right now he doesn't feel the need to play situations or think of milestones.

There is also an element of letting go to it. As Kohli said at the post-match presentation, he appreciates some ball has your name on it. So don't carry the weight of the whole innings. Trust others in case you get out.

It is apparent Kohli has identified two crucial phases to maximise: new ball, when the batting is at its easiest, and overs 30 to 40 just before the extra fielder goes out and the one-ball regulation makes it difficult to hit. In Raipur, for example, he began to hit almost everything even though he was getting close to a hundred. He went from 73 to 100 in just 19 balls because India needed to make the most of the still hard ball and the field restrictions.

In Vadodara again, Kohli picked up the pace around the 33rd over. He got out for 93 trying to hit a boundary off Kyle Jamieson when he could have got to the hundred in singles because the asking rate was well in control.

This innings was a nice little tussle between the exuberance Kohli is now allowing himself to indulge in and the battle-hardened competitor who wants to win everything. It remains to be seen if the collapse and the general struggle for new batters that followed makes him alter his approach ever so slightly in chases, but in the final leg of his career Kohli is on a mission to discover what the ceiling of his game really is.