Virat Kohli is a son of Delhi but, at 3pm on Saturday, as the ball burst through the hands of a diving Ben Stokes at cover and the India captain scampered through for a single, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai erupted in a way that suggested adoption papers from the city may soon be forthcoming.
Here was Kohli, the bristling embodiment of a confident modern India, notching his 15th Test century and celebrating in fitting fashion. The leap in the air, the swift removal of the helmet, the circling of the bat to all parts of this cricketing colosseum: for a brief moment, as the near-capacity crowd rose, a sport that continues to attract angst over its future felt in remarkably rude health.
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