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Kohli’s moment
Can he build on a good start to the English summer to establish greatness in Test cricket?
The latest ICC Test rankings with Virat Kohli as the top batsman provide a curiously(उत्सुकता /दिलचस्प) apt backdrop to the Indian cricket team’s current tour of England. His ranking was enabled(योग्य बनाना) by his 200 runs, 149 in the first innings and 51 in the second, in the first Test in Birmingham which almost took India to victory, but in the event spared(बचाना/रक्षा करना) the tourists the embarrassment(शर्मिंदगी) of a crushing defeat(हार). Together, the two over lapping(अतिव्यापी/ढंकते हुए) statistics(आंकड़े) — Kohli’s success in taking command of India’s batting in both innings, even if it fell short of getting the team past the English total, and his ascent(चढ़ाई/उठान) up the ICC rankings — frame the juncture(अवसर/उचित समय) the India team is at. Kohli has comfortably(आराम से) asserted(जोर दिया/दावा करना) his dominance(प्रभुत्व ) in the abbreviated(संक्षिप्त ) formats(प्रारूप) of the game, both One-Day Internationals and Twenty20s. Yet when it came to Tests, despite(के बावजूद) his 53-plus average, there had always been a debate over the critical(महत्वपूर्ण/संकटमय) distance he needed to traverse(पार करना/लांघना) from being a very good batsman to being counted among the greats of the modern era. His dismal(निराशाजनक/अप्रसन्न)showing during(दौरान) India’s previous tour of England, in 2014, with just 134 runs from 10 innings, could not be ignored(अनदेखा). Kohli is conscious(सचेत/जागरूक) of the need to prove himself in away tours. Once he had spoken of his dream to score a Test ton against Dale Steyn and company in South Africa, and went on to promptly(तुरन्त/ठीक समय पर) do so in 2013. England presents an especially important challenge to him. For one, it is a personal point to prove against James Anderson, who had in 2014 dismissed Kohli on four occasions(अवसरों/ मौकों). He has clearly learnt to play Anderson, and in Birmingham, his line around the off-stump was either countered with a straight bat and soft hands or left alone.
More importantly, with England having revived the tradition(रिवाज/परंपरा) of five-Test series, a victorious English summer has become a measure of a team’s ability to count itself among the best. In the first Test, Kohli’s innings were worthy of being preserved(संरक्षित) as textbook manuals on batting against crafty fast bowlers. Equally, his leadership qualities wererevealed(प्रकट/प्रकाशित) by his skill(कुशलता/युक्ति) in shielding(परिरक्षण) the tail as he piled up his 149 in the first innings. The ICC top ranking will likely remain his for some time. With 934 points, Kohli is just marginally(मामूली) ahead of Steve Smith (929), but the Australian is currently serving a one-year ban for ball-tampering(गेंद से छेड़छाड़) and holds no threat(ख़तरा/आशंका); the next two potential challengers, England’s Joe Root (865) and New Zealander Kane Williamson (847), hover far behind. But the remaining four Tests, including the Lord’s fixture that began on Thursday, will determine the Indian skipper’s capacity to seize the moment. Kohli has clearly reclaimed(पुन: दावा/सुधारना)his mojo in England, but in a team sport, he will also have to draw out the best from his whole pack to claim greatness(महानता ).
Important Vocabulary
1.Embarrassment(शर्मिंदगी)
Synonyms: chagrin, confusion, difficulty, dilemma, mess
Antonyms: calm, order, organization, pleasure, solution
2.Lapping(अतिव्यापी/ढंकते हुए)
Synonyms:lick, splash, bathe, bubble, burble
3.Spared(बचाना/रक्षा करना)
Synonyms: afford, allow, give, grant, provide, save
Antonyms: deny, hold, keep, refuse, take
4.Abbreviated(संक्षिप्त )
Synonyms:abridge, compress, abstract, clip, condense
Antonyms: expand, extend, increase, enlarge, lengthen
5.Conscious(सचेत/जागरूक
Synonyms: attentive, aware, certain, cognizant, informed
Antonyms: careless, doubtful, dubious, heedless, ignorant
6.Asserted(जोर दिया/दावा करना)
Synonyms:affirm, allege, argue, cite, claim
Antonyms:abandon, conceal, deny, desert, hide
7.Marginally(मामूली)
Synonyms:kind of, lightly, marginally, somewhat, hardly
Antonyms: a lot, considerably, greatly
8.Shielding(परिरक्षण
Synonyms:conceal, cover, defend, safeguard, shelter
Antonyms: abandon, lay bare, reveal, uncover, disregard
9.Preserved(संरक्षित)
Synonyms: conserve, defend, freeze, keep, perpetuate
Antonyms: abandon, attack, endanger, give up, halt
