Virat Kohli seems to be in a world of his own, with a fourth consecutive ODI fifty in a row.
Getting off the mark with an on-drive is considered as one of the most class-defining things for a batter, irrespective of the format. And Virat Kohli has done that, irrespective of the format. The 37-year-old was off the mark with a sumptuous on-drive against Zak Foulkes.
Though most of the trademark things remained same in Virat Kohli’s approach towards a well composed 93 in the first IND vs NZ ODI, there was a subtle change which is visible since the chase-master has played the last ODI series against South Africa.
Virat Kohli seems to have slightly changed his approach, and looks in a much free state of mind while batting, right from the start. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter does not look afraid to hit the ball in the air right from the beginning – something he used to keep at a later stage in his early days.
In the post match presentation, Kohli was asked about this change, to which he had a very clear answer. The Indian No.3 voiced that he is not behind milestones. Furthermore, he stated that if the team was batting first, he would have went harder at the bowlers.
“Honestly, the way I’m playing, I’m not thinking milestones. If we were batting first, I’d have gone harder. The experience does kick in, but the main thing was to get the team ahead and to a winning position. The basic idea is I bat at No. 3 and if the situation is tricky, I try to counterattack without playing outrageous shots”, said Kohli after the game.
ALSO READ:
If Virat Kohli set the game up, KL Rahul played a crucial role in finishing things off with valuable support from Harshit Rana and Washington Sundar. However, the wicketkeeper-batter from Karnataka was very vocal about how the top-order set up the game wonderfully in the first half of the second innings.
Rahul stated that the way Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill batted took pressure off the lower order in the dying moments of the game. The wicket was such that the odd ball was staying low, and hence it was extremely important for the top four to score runs when the ball was hard and new. And that is exactly what Kohli and Gill did.
The duo put up a 118-run stand for the second wicket and got those runs in less than 120 balls, which made sure that the score board kept ticking. Moreover, Shreyas Iyer too chipped in with a valuable 49 off 47 deliveries to guide the Men in Blue home.
“Kohli and Gill found the right tempo, played very well so that the lower order would have an easy job. They went at a good rate so that we didn’t have to chase too many at the end”, KL Rahul said in the post match interview.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
