Virat Kohli Explains The Opposition's Precise Role That Makes Him Play Better
Published - 19 May 2020, 01:14 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:28 AM
It is without a shadow of a doubt that Virat Kohli has established himself as one of the prolific run-getters of all time. But what separates him from most of the batsmen is his love for batting, especially while chasing totals. The present Indian captain already has an insatiable appetite for runs, which grows by leaps and bounds during run-chases. In a candid chat over Facebook with the Bangladeshi batsman Tamim Iqbal, Kohli has revealed the incentive he gets when chasing scores.
Some of the 31-year old’s greatest knocks across formats have come when in pursuit of mammoth totals to win games. It all began in 2012 when Virat Kohli slammed an unbeaten 133 against Sri Lanka to score 320 in less than 40 overs. A month later, the Delhi batsman belted 183 against Pakistan to gun down 330.
In 2013, he played another crucial role in making India successfully chase 350 plus scores against Australia in the seven-match ODI series. Even as Kohli’s hundred in the Adelaide Test of 2014 went in a losing cause, India’s rise to become the number one team began there. In subsequent years, the Indian skipper reigned supreme against the likes of Australia, South Africa, and West Indies on multiple occasions.
Virat Kohli reveals the opposition’s precise role in provoking him to play better:
Along with his achievements mentioned above, few cricketers dare to mess with Kohli on the field. Australian coach Justin Langer iterated the same to his teammates during their home series against India not to pick a jibe on him. And while fans speculated that when the counterparts goad him, the 31-year old gets the motivation to do even well, it did come true.
As Virat Kohli spoke to Tamim Iqbal, he acknowledged that when chasing a score, his mindset is simple. When any player from the opposition incites him, he uses the same as an incentive to do well. The 31-year old went on to say that as a youngster, in case India failed to chase a total, he used to think the result would have been different if he played.
“When it comes to chasing targets, my mental state is simple — if someone says something to me from the opposition side, then I get more motivated. When I was younger, I used to watch matches on television. If India did not end up winning the match while chasing targets, I used to think if I was there, I would have won the match.” Kohli said as quoted by Times Now.
Experts including Ian Chappell and Kevin Pietersen have admitted that Virat Kohli is the best player in the current era. The right-handed batsman has several records under his name already and is on the verge of making more. His 43 centuries in ODI cricket is only the second to Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 51. 26 out of his 43 hundreds have come in the second innings. Kohli also averages above 50 in all three forms, the only batsman to do so at present.
Also Reads: Virat Kohli Is The Best Batsman In All Three Forms Of The Game: Ian Chappell
