Both India head coach Gautam Gambhir and star batsman Virat Kohli get inner strength from their trust in the supernatural when it comes to the unusual. They are both typical Delhiites with an aggressive streak to deal with intense conditions.
Kohli and Gambhir discussed their numerous commonalities as they settled down for an unusual conversation that the BCCI had arranged for its official website. It turns out that one of those parallels is their belief in a higher power.
A decade and a half ago, when Gambhir was attempting to save a Test match against New Zealand in Napier, he recalled how ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ gave him the strength to play that two-day, heroic knock.
Similar to this, when Kohli scored four hundreds in Test matches in Australia in 2014, he would chant “Om Namah Shivay” in remembrance of Lord Shiva while batting.
It was Gambhir who disclosed this to Kohli during their discussion when the topic of spirituality came up.
“Let’s discuss a few incidents from the Australia-India series. The double hundred in our house will be the most memorable. I would like to discuss the innings’s thinking. What provides you with stability and anchorage? During the bcci.tv podcast, Kohli questioned his coach.
“You told me that you would say ‘Om Namah Shivay’ before every delivery during that incredible series you had in Australia, where you scored a ton of runs, instead of talking about me. Gambhir answered, “And that got you in that zone,” to which Kohli nodded in accord.
For his 136, Gambhir batted for about two days and a half session. His innings lasted 10 hours and 43 minutes, during which he faced 436 balls.
It was about preserving India from the disgrace of losing an innings after New Zealand forced India to reply after amassing a first innings total of more than 600. In their first innings, the visiting team had scored 305 runs.
“When I played in Napier, that’s exactly what happened to me (in zone). I spent two and a half days batting,” stated Gambhir.
“I doubt I could have performed that again in the future. During those two and a half days, I did nothing but listen to Hanuman Chalisa.
“You entered that state by singing Om Namah Shivay, but I entered that state by listening to Hanuman Chalisa. You might be in that zone very seldom throughout your career, which is what I mean when I talk about being in that zone. Being in that zone is amazing.”
With Rahul Dravid at the second wicket, Sachin Tendulkar at the third, and VVS Laxman at the fourth, Gambhir had a 133-run partnership.
“I recall Laxman telling me that on Day 5 in Napier, while I was batting. As I was leaving the first session, he said to me, “Do you realize you haven’t said a word in the last two hours, not even in between overs?” It dawned on me that I had said nothing.
“I just nodded and played in between overs, and when I came back, I put on Hanuman Chalisa and listened to it. For those two and a half days, it felt as though everyone was totally lost.
“You must have encountered this far more frequently than I did. You won’t know what it feels like until you are in that zone,” the fierce southpaw from earlier in memory remarked.
