Hyderabad: After knocking a 63-ball hundred besides sharing 172 runs with Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Faf du Plessis, King Kohli said he's least bothered about opinions on his strike rate in the IPL while arguing that he has to stay true to his technique and avoid playing fancy shots considering the Test Tourney round the corner. This is Virat Kohli's first ton in this edition of Indian premier League and sixth in all of IPL. Kohli's century equalled Chris Gayle's for most hundreds in IPL.
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A magnificent CENTURY by Virat Kohli 🔥🔥
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 18, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
Take a bow, King Kohli!
His SIXTH century in the IPL.#TATAIPL #SRHvRCB pic.twitter.com/gd39A6tp5d
">A magnificent CENTURY by Virat Kohli 🔥🔥
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 18, 2023
Take a bow, King Kohli!
His SIXTH century in the IPL.#TATAIPL #SRHvRCB pic.twitter.com/gd39A6tp5dA magnificent CENTURY by Virat Kohli 🔥🔥
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 18, 2023
Take a bow, King Kohli!
His SIXTH century in the IPL.#TATAIPL #SRHvRCB pic.twitter.com/gd39A6tp5d
During the post-match presentation, Kohli who was adjudged the player of the match for his match winning knock said, "I never look at past numbers. I put myself under so much stress already. I don't give myself enough credit sometimes despite playing impact knocks. (So) I don't care what anyone says on the outside. Because that is their opinion." The question was pointed to his track record against Sun Risers Hyderabad which posted a total of 186 for 5 while batting first and the visitors reached the target with four balls and eight wickets to spare.
No fancy shots-"When you are in that situation yourself, you know how to win games of cricket. I have done that for a long period of time, it is not like when I play I don't win games for my team. I take pride in playing according to the situation. I've never been a guy who plays so many fancy shots. We have to play 12 months of the year. For me, its not about playing fancy shots and throwing my wicket away. It's Test cricket (coming up) after the IPL. I have to stay true to my technique and find ways to win games for my team."
Tattoo bond- "I think it's the tattoos," Kohli said when he was asked to reveal his best performing partnership with du Plessis. "Very similar to how AB and me batting together. There's a good sense of where we (he and du Plessis) are and how to take the game forward. It's been a beautiful transition for us coming together for RCB at the top and making an impact."
"Quite special considering the magnitude of the game. Thought SRH got a very good score. Ball was gripping as well. Faf's been on a different level. I've had a quiet couple of games. The way I was hitting in the nets wasn't transitioning into the middle."
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What is the secret of the highly successful Virat-Faf pair?🤔
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 18, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
We will let King Kohli spill the beans 😉#TATAIPL | #SRHvRCB | @RCBTweets | @imVkohli | @faf1307 pic.twitter.com/BEKGcALbZK
">What is the secret of the highly successful Virat-Faf pair?🤔
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 18, 2023
We will let King Kohli spill the beans 😉#TATAIPL | #SRHvRCB | @RCBTweets | @imVkohli | @faf1307 pic.twitter.com/BEKGcALbZKWhat is the secret of the highly successful Virat-Faf pair?🤔
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 18, 2023
We will let King Kohli spill the beans 😉#TATAIPL | #SRHvRCB | @RCBTweets | @imVkohli | @faf1307 pic.twitter.com/BEKGcALbZK
Crowd's blessings- Speaking about the crowd's support in the away match, Kohli said he felt blessed and will be grateful for their support. "Blessed and grateful for the support. I told Faf that it was like a home game, cheering for RCB and taking my name as well. I feel you can't create this. I haven't forced anyone to support me. It's an amazing position to be in that you can provide happiness to so many people."
Clinical approach- RCB captain du Plessis said his team was clinical with the bat and the ball. "Amazing chase. We felt it was a good wicket walking off and that 200 was the par score despite Klaasen's ton. Not too many balls that spun or stuck on the wicket so we wanted to play positively.
"We were clinical with the bat today and ball last game. Kohli and I complement each other well, hit different areas and are good mates on and off well which works for us. Taking the momentum home is key. Away conditions are tough. Chinnaswamy will be amazing for another must-win game for us."
