Panic, “Grovel” and a 37-year-old who wouldn’t slow down: Inside Kohli’s vintage Ranchi hundred

Hunger Unchanged at 37

Open on the image of Kohli, 36 going on 37, leaping in Ranchi after his hundred – “a 36-year-old trying to clear a 36-inch emotional bar”. Bring in the sprinted twos, the dive for a single, the full-throated roar that made Rohit erupt on the balcony. Make it clear that this story is not about a number (135) but about a question: how can someone who has done everything still look this hungry?

By the time Virat Kohli walked off in Ranchi, 135 off 120 balls to his name and India sitting on 349 for 8, the scoreboard told only half the story. This was the same South Africa that had made India “grovel” in a 0–2 Test humiliation, and yet here was a 37-year-old who looked like the freshest, clearest mind on the field.

What lingered was not just the numbers – 11 fours, 7 sixes, a 136-run stand with Rohit Sharma – but the way Kohli lived every run. He sprinted hard twos in the 40th over, dived for singles, and when the hundred came, he leapt in the air as if determined to jump one inch higher for every year on the calendar, a 36-year-old body trying to clear a 36-inch emotional bar. The message was unmistakable: time may be ticking, but his hunger is not ageing.

South Africa’s Chaotic Chase

In Guwahati, the collapse didn’t just look technical, but it looked deeply human. Batters walked out knowing they were carrying the weight of a bad year, a noisy country and a dressing room running out of answers. You can suggest how, at 95 for 1, there might have been a quiet hope in the balcony – “maybe this is the day we breathe again” – and how every misjudged leave or half-shot after that felt like the air going out of the room.

If Kohli’s innings was about control, South Africa’s reply was about surge and spill. Chasing 350, they were rocked early by Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, slumping to 11 for 3 before a series of counterpunches from Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis and Marco Jansen dragged the game back into chaos. Jansen’s 70 off 39 balls, with three sixes and five fours, briefly turned the chase into a street fight, slicing the equation to a manageable rate and rattling India’s composure.

But every burst came with a collapse stapled to it. Brevis’ no-look sixes were followed by a miscued drive. Jansen’s mayhem ended with a mis-hit to deep midwicket just as he looked set to take the game away. Each time the required rate climbed, South Africa responded with more risk, not more structure, until Kuldeep Yadav’s four wickets and Rana’s breakthroughs finally converted their frenzy into a 332 all out, 17 runs short.

408 Runs of Heartbreak Became a Night of Kohli-Led Healing

The contrast bites harder when you rewind a week. In Guwahati, India were bowled out by South Africa for 201 and 140, losing by 408 runs – their biggest home Test defeat by margin – to complete a 0–2 surrender that triggered talk of an identity crisis in red-ball cricket. From 95 for 1 to 122 for 7 in one infamous stretch, “scrambled brains” became the shorthand for a batting group trapped between defence and attack.

In Ranchi, against the same opponents, Kohli and Rohit built the anti-collapse. Coming in at 18 for 1, Kohli stitched a 136-run partnership with Rohit to take India to 154 for 2, then steered through a wobble at 200 for 4 before exploding at the back end. Where the Test side lurched from one bad option to another, the ODI innings moved in clean phases: control in the Powerplay, balance through the middle, and then a finishing surge to 349 that left South Africa chasing shadows.

Scrambled Brains vs Structured Chase

The numbers tell the story neatly. In Guwahati, India’s first-innings slide of six wickets for 27 runs turned a solid start into a heap of regret, and the fourth-innings 140 was a procession with no one going past 40. In Ranchi, Kohli alone made 135, nearly matching that entire fourth-innings effort, and did it across 44 overs of disciplined, sequenced batting. His innings was a masterclass in mental sequencing.

He absorbed pressure after Jaiswal’s early exit, played second fiddle while Rohit found his range, then rebuilt again when quick wickets fell, only unleashing his full range after reaching three figures. The 11 boundaries and seven sixes were back-loaded, not front-loaded, a conscious choice to protect the innings first and then punish bowling once the platform was in place.

Test Crisis vs One-Format Clarity

The wider backdrop only sharpens the edges. India’s Test side now sits fifth in the World Test Championship table, weighed down by back-to-back home series defeats and a top order that looks unsure of its method against high-class spin and disciplined pace. Selection churn and muddled tactics have made the red-ball team feel like a lab in search of a roadmap.

Kohli, in contrast, has simplified his world. After stepping away from Tests and T20Is, he admitted that this is the one format he now lives for, that most of his preparation is mental, and that if he is “arriving somewhere”, he wants to arrive at 120%. Ranchi was that philosophy in action: a performance that reminded everyone that in ODIs, he still sets the terms of engagement.

Grovel, Clutch and a King’s Reply

Even the opposition voices feed into the script. Before the Guwahati Test, South Africa coach Shukri Conrad spoke of making India “spend more time on the field” and “really grovel” in the fourth innings, a word choice that drew criticism once India were routed 0–2. Sunil Gavaskar called the remark ill-advised, hinting that this was not a phrase to throw around lightly.

By the time the teams reached Ranchi, batting coach Ashwell Prince was stressing just how “world-class and dangerous” Rohit and Kohli remain, even comparing their psychological impact on India to Quinton de Kock’s on South Africa. In the same breath, he admitted the Proteas are still building “clutch temperament” in ODIs – precisely the trait that deserted them in that 17-run loss, as their chase veered between daring and desperation.

Vintage Kohli Era Ravi

Shastri framed the night as more than nostalgia, calling this hundred in “his only format now” a silencing of doubts around Kohli’s future. The innings carried a vintage feel, but analysts pointed out a subtle evolution: more sixes than usual, a slightly higher sustained tempo, and a willingness to take on spin in the last 10 overs rather than just pace.

Outside the commentary box, the reactions bordered on prophetic. Social media timelines filled with declarations that Kohli is “coming for the 2027 World Cup” and that ODI cricket still has a heartbeat as long as he is around. For one night, the bruises of a 408-run Test defeat faded, replaced by the sight of a 37-year-old leaping, punching the air, and reminding everyone that while India’s red-ball aura may be flickering, the king of pacing a 350 chase is very much still in charge